The Dad Who Lived
by PadyandMoony
Summary: In his early thirties, he woke up one day with no memory of who he was and he made himself into Rick Castle. Eight years later he is in for one hell of a surprise. Harry Potter Crossover (will include some other fandoms but deep knowledge of them is not needed).
1. The dad who lived

**Disclaimer: I don't own Castle, Harry Potter or any other fandom portrayed here.**

 **Summary:** In his early thirties, he woke up one day with no memory of who he was and he made himself into Rick Castle. Eight years later he is in for one hell of a surprise. Harry Potter Crossover (will include some other fandoms but deep knowledge of them is not needed).

 **I know this is an annoying long AN but please read or you might get frustrated with the story. Also keep in mind that this will be very AU for every fandom involved. So if you're not a fan of huge changes, this is not the story for you.**

 **Warnings:** I assume that if you are here you are familiar with the canon of the fandoms being portrayed here and I will not be explaining them other than what pertains to the story. You need to be very familiar with the TV show Castle and the Harry Potter books. Other canons I use such as the TV shows White Collar, How I met your Mother, BBC Sherlock and Modern Family and Lie to me need only a passing knowledge. You can totally understand the story even not knowing much about them. I won't be following their canon, I am just borrowing some characters and their characteristics so being familiar with them is good but not essential.

 **A/N:** While this is a Harry Potter crossover, the focus is mainly in the Castle world. Which is why I decided to post here instead of in the crossover section. First, because the HP crossover section has so few stories that I don't even know if anyone checks over there. And secondly because Castle is more of an adult show, so I figured, that I should be aiming at Castle fans who may be Harry Potter fans or have a working knowledge than the other way around. You know, avoid the little kiddies.

To be honest, this whole exercise started as a White Collar/Harry Potter crossover. And since I am not a fan of OCs, when I decided I needed characters for that crossover I started rooting around the other shows I watched to 'cast', so to say, my characters. And that is why there are so many crossovers. I used them for surrounding cast.

Richard Castle is always on a sugar high. He is a child inside but he can also be surprisingly serious when the situation warrants. He is also loyal to a fault, always takes care of those he loves and always has their back and believes in them even when they push him away. He doesn't give up either. He was there by Becket's side all along until she came around to seeing him for who he really was. I can't help but see the similarities. James Potter was said to be a prankster, immature but he also became an Animagus while still in school for his friend. Had Sirius's back when Sirius needed a home to go to after he ran away. Saved Snape despite their enmity. Fought for what he felt was right. Stood steady waiting for Lily to see that he was more than just a prankster and ultimately gave his life for those he loved, his wife and child. Neither is perfect, but they are both good men with huge hearts. They are also physically similar. So when wondering who could be James Potter, Richard Castle jumped out.

So while the White Collar/Harry Potter crossover didn't really pan out I ended up really getting into the idea of the Harry Potter/Castle crossover where James Potter is not only alive but ends up being Rick Castle (yeah, I know, spoiler alert. But really you find that out like in the first few paragraphs). **So be warned, he is the main character, not Harry. This is a story of how he deals with the betrayals he was dealt and reconciles his old life with his new one.**

Like I said, since I am not a big fan of having OC's I decided to give me a challenge and pick characters from other fandoms that could fit the roles I needed. So this became an exercise on choosing who could be a good fit and an exercise on portraying characters I love like Sirius and Remus in the role of, not necessarily villains, but not perfect guys either and making their roles believable. I also cast Dumbledore on the villain side and that was a first for me since I've always liked him. This was a very interesting exercise, turning around these worlds I love so much while trying to get at least part of that new characterization from canon. (Understand this, I adore the Harry Potter world, but I needed to justify the move to the US, and thus I had to take the flaws of that world and magnify them.)

I at first thought of having Lily really be dead but then I ran into the problem of Rick/James remembering his grief right in the middle of his already super complicated relationship with Becket. So instead I decided that James and Lily would have already been separated. I am not making her a villain per se but just someone who wasn't ready to be a mother (a bit like Meredith. You can see that despite her absence Alexis loves her and she loves Alexis. The only reason I did not use her despite the perfect physical resemblance was because from what we know of Lily in school and her friendship with Snape I can't see her in the role of Meredith. So for this story Meredith doesn't exist and instead I chose someone else.)

I was also watching "How I met your mother" and had the crazy idea that Robin with her crazy love of guns would have been the perfect sister for Richard Castle not to mention the fact that I could just see him taking care of this family and yes, there is one more woman to drive him crazy. Plus I needed the plural. You'll understand what I mean later on

At first I toyed with Harry already being in Hogwarts but that didn't work with some things I wanted plus, like I said, Harry is not the main character here, and I didn't want to distract from Rick with Harry's story. So good news, he gets a family while still a child! In this fic he's nine-years-old.

The seasons or years from HP, Castle, How I met your mother etc. do not match the years they were aired or they were supposed to be but how I wanted them to be. I wanted Robin to have still been a teenager, just out of Hogwarts, when all went down. Someone who Rick would still think was young enough to go to college, but at the same time I wanted her to already be friends with the rest of the HIMYM gang when the story starts. So she'll be 28. If I am not completely mistaken that was season 3.

Just because I like drama I love the idea of this all going down just after Kate gets shot while she is off licking her wounds, because I always thought that was kind of selfish of her and I think that the fact that she wasn't there for Castle at a very crucial time in his life when he's been there for her always would drive home to her how she needs to change. So this is season 4 of Castle.

For this to work I had to change a few crucial canon details. For instance, Gina and Rick never dated or were married. They are just co-workers. Maybe frenemies. He's been in New York for only 8 years so I didn't think there was time in the five years before he meets Beckett for two deeply involved long-term relationships. And I felt Kyra was more important. That, however has opened room for an interesting misunderstanding on Kate's part which you will see later on. (Wink, wink).

Also, Storm Fall isn't the book he had just published in the pilot. I can't justify him killing off a series that has just a few years but I can see him wanting different characters because here he doesn't just write one book a year but several. So imagine he writes them mixed up, a Storm book, then a Nikki, then single one without a series. I want him to have the success he has already and I don't think that is so farfetched. The Harry Potter books themselves are proof. Before book one, JKR was unknown and by book 4, which all had been launched pretty close to each other, she was a worldwide phenomenon. If you think so, then just bear with me and as Nathan Fillion once said, suspend disbelief! Any other changes in canon that I feel need to be explained outside the story I'll explain in A/Ns when they show up. As characters from other fandoms show up. I'll give you a little explanation in an AN after the chapter. Because this An is already more than 1 k long. So let's get to the story! And sorry for the delay!

Oh, yeah. Also I've never been to NY so I've tried to use locations I've seen mentioned either on the show or other fics, or even Googling. If I say something too stupid New Yorkers, I apologize.

* * *

 **"The dad who lived"**

 **Chapter 1 – The dad who lived**

Richard Castle made his way to the door in a huff. He would have to have a serious talk with Eduardo. He couldn't just let people not on the pre-approved list up without buzzing them first. That was a short list and he knew for a fact none of them would be here now. Well, not for a fact. There was the one whose whereabouts were semi-unknown. Semi, because he did talk to her dad every week. He was worried. He had been suffering after seeing her almost die. He had forgotten what sleep was like, seeing as he was woken from nightmares of her dying just moments after closing her eyes. And he was just her friend. Partner. And he would like to say he didn't know how Jim Beckett would feel but he did. Because he may not know much about his life prior to waking up at Lenox Hill eight years ago but he did have that one awful memory. Of flames, and his little boy, whose name he didn't even remember, being engulfed by them. No father should go through that. See their child die. And if there ever was a reason for Jim to fall off the wagon that was it. So he made sure he didn't. He made up some story about needing to learn about baseball for one of his books and how Kate had told him Jim was an avid fan and had Jim take him to games or met him once a week to discuss baseball ever since Kate decided to isolate herself in his cabin. They didn't talk about current Kate, beyond the _"She's doing better. She texted,"_ at least she was texting her father, even if ignoring him. But they had become close. Him bemoaning Alexis reaching her last year of high-school and Jim enlightening him on all the ways he was lucky to have such a well behaved daughter with stories of teenage and child Katie. Boy had she downplayed her wild phase.

But Eduardo will hear from him. He liked the man. In the almost seven years he had lived in the building he had always been kind to them. Rick had been a little overwhelmed after publishing "In a Hail of Bullets" and "A Rose for ever after" and suddenly going from bartender with two jobs just to scrape by and living off a friend's charity to being able to afford a luxury apartment for his family, and Eduardo had never looked down on them like some of the neighbors who whispered behind their backs, not believing the family didn't have any recollection of who they were prior to that day eight years ago. Or even some of the staff, who thought they brought down the building's class, with his loud mother, his tomboy sister and him, the single father. Well, boohoo for them, because Rick had vowed to only give his family the best he could afford, after waking up with only the clothes on his body. And he worked very hard for that. Those first years he was producing four or five books a year. When he met Kate, he had been a published writer for a scant four years and yet he had over 20 best sellers published. So he earned everything he had and he would not let anyone say any different.

Enough daydreaming or mind ranting, he needed to see who was interrupting his very important brooding because his Detective wouldn't call, his book was finished and his daughter seemed to have abandoned him for another man, _Ashley_ and his girly name, and to think he helped him! He must have been out of his mind. Yes, someone had to have drugged him. Probably a prank from one of the boys.

He opened the door and stared at Will freaking Sorenson of the FBI accompanied by Doomsday Fallon from Homeland Security. Seriously! You have got to be kidding him!

"Please tell me there are no bombs," he sighed before he could sensor himself in front of Kate's square-jawed perfect ex. He noticed that was common in all her boyfriends. Pretty perfect. Maybe he should lay off the smorletts…nah, what other joy did he have in life? Boy was he depressed!

"Depends on your outlook. Metaphorically, this is quite the bomb," Fallon said, "May we come in Mr. Castle?"

"Sure," he shrugged and moved to make way for them. That was when he noticed Sorenson crouching to someone on his side who was out of sight. Probably behind the wall.

"Let's go. I can say a lot of things about Castle but even I have to agree that he is a good guy," and Rick didn't know if to choke because Sorenson complimented him or because of the boy who timidly followed him inside the apartment. He was short, six or seven, if you stretched. Had the most awful pair of glasses on and clothes that were clearly new. Just bought yesterday new. But that wasn't what glued his eyes to the boy. Or the fact that the boy looked like a miniature, skinny version of him. Yes, he noticed that thank you very much. No, what made him unable to look away were the boy's eyes. Eyes that haunted his dreams. A vivid green that looked at him desperately from behind flames. But that couldn't be because his boy would have been nine right? He wasn't sure, but he always estimated the baby's age at around one. And this boy didn't look nine. He looked younger and scared. Really scared. Not I'm crying scared, but I'm trying to pretend I'm not but I'm ready to bolt scared. He knew that look well from many times he felt that way in more than one occasion. Last time Fallon was here came to mind. But mostly, he knew that look from Kate. Funnily enough not from when she was in front of a bomb, or a serial killer, but in front of him. Reaching dangerously close to territories they are not allowed to reach.

He forgot his manners as Fallon and Sorenson apparently decided to take the lead and seat down on the couch with the boy in tow as he automatically sat down in one of the armchairs in front of them himself, his eyes never leaving the boy and not a sound coming out of his mouth.

"Your name is James Potter," Fallon said in his usual curt and to the point way.

"Uh," he said dumbly not really paying attention. Still staring at the boy who was staring back. Almost daring Rick to prove him right and hurt him. Because he realized that was what this boy expected. He was good at reading people and he was starting to have the awful sensation that maybe this boy wasn't six, he just looked six.

"Castle!" Fallon called louder and Rick jumped to attention. "Your name is James Alexander Potter, you are a British citizen."

"No, I'm American."

"No, you just sound American," Sorenson said and some part of Rick - that was not busy trying to figure out if there was a chance that this was his boy. His boy who wasn't dead. Could that be? - rebelled against having Sorenson know anything about him that he himself didn't, "Apparently, you don't just have a memory bind. A spell that is supposed to be used to help people learn proper pronunciation when learning a new language was used on your mother language to make you sound American. So you wouldn't go looking for answers in England."

"So you are saying I'm a British Wizard," he scoffed. "I know how to use the internet?" he pointed out. Because British Wizards were well known for being the bane of everyone else's existence by refusing to join the rest of the world in the twenty-first century. They still lived as if they were living 200 hundred years ago. Thought non-magicals beneath them and refused to learn how technology worked. Risking exposure by doing magic in front of cameras all the time. Every other day there was an article on the papers about how the International Confederation of Wizards had failed yet again to convince the British Wizards to work with the Non-magical government to prevent the population at large learning about them, like everyone else did.

That was a major debate around the world. Most of the world had realized that to keep magic a secret from the population at large they needed certain non-magicals to know about magic and they needed to act sooner. Most of the countries had managed to merge both societies, the magicals integrating with the non-magicals and thus making the magical part easier to hide, since they knew how to act around non-magicals and since the government, first responders, law enforcement and medical personnel were also in the know. Magical education also started sooner and was mixed with non-magical curriculum. As a matter of fact, several schools had both kinds of students having spells and wards that didn't let the non-magical students learn about the magical classes. This made understanding of the non-magical society much easier since from an early age Wizards and Witches went to school with non-magicals. Not the British and a very few other countries in Europe. While the British non-magical government was aware of magic and took measures to make sure the Statute of Secrecy was kept, thanks to the help of foreign governments and foreign wizards, the magical British thought they were all well-hidden, which they weren't. They separated themselves and thought that was enough. Thought the non-magicals didn't notice them. In short, they were a pain for everyone else because all this caused was a lot of magic being exposed to cameras in England. And the fact that London was one of the cities with the most CCTV coverage in the world just added to the fuel. Bad combination. But because of centuries old treaties signed by the British crown and the Magical government, until the British Wizarding government decided to cooperate there wasn't much they could do without breaching those contracts. There were very few loopholes.

"From what we could ascertain, apparently your mother, who is from a very traditional, very anti-non-magicals family, rebelled by giving you and your sister a non-magical education before Hogwarts and you kept your studies up even after. You have a degree from Oxford," Fallon explained.

"Really?" he preened a little even though he still thought he was being bulshitted. "Oxford. So you say my name is James Alexander Potter, Alexander, my middle name now," he said with a dubious tone.

"Makes sense," Sorenson said. "They bound your memories, not your character. I read somewhere that you chose the last name but let your mother choose the first names."

"We were virtual strangers," Rick hissed angrily. He hated having to talk about what happened. How scared they all had been. They knew - they somehow knew what they were to each other but they didn't remember. Didn't remember each other's name or how they knew each other. They had functional knowledge, he could recite Shakespeare but he couldn't tell you his birthday. "I thought that would make her feel better. More connected." He also wasn't going to give Sorenson the pleasure of knowing he had chosen Rodgers for Captain America. At a time they were so exposed, so in need of help, he felt the symbolism appropriate. A superhero. When Black Pawn said Richard Rodgers was too much alliteration he once again went for the symbolism. Castles were strong. Castles were fortresses to protect those inside. But Sorenson didn't need to know any of that.

"Makes sense she would choose the same name. According to our information, James was a family name," Fallon said.

"A Potter family name," Rick said and for the first time the name clicked. The British Wizarding community was small on account of them not wanting to mix with the non-magicals, which led to interfamily marriages and less children for each couple. Other communities were larger because a marriage with a non-magical was common seeing as neither one had to choose to leave their world. A small college had more students than the Wizarding Brits had citizens. So there wasn't much repeat of last names and for the first time Rick looked more closely at the boy's forehead and not his eyes. "Holy shit!" he cried shooting up. And then his fatherly instincts kicked in. "You didn't hear that! Don't repeat that!" he said straight to the boy. The boy who was looking at him with big green eyes and a lightening bolt shaped scar on his forehead. The boy who cracked the first grin since he got here at Rick's bumbling.

"Yep, he is. Harry James Potter also known as the Boy Who Lived," Sorenson nodded grimly.

"No, no, no," he shook his head vigorously. "That can't be. Everyone knows the Potters are dead. Everyone knows the story. The father died first trying to stop Voldemort, in the living room and then the mother was found dead by the crib. Killing curses both, and the girl, the nine-year-old - same age Alexis was -" he whispered, "she died from the blast. That, there are history books with that story!" he insisted. "He can't be the Boy Who Lived. He's my boy!" he said without filter, because he knew, he just knew.

"Yes, that was the official version. Given by Albus Dumbledore and Charlus Potter, who also conveniently managed to keep any pictures of the Potter parents and daughter out of the media. But we found out that that is not the case. They are the ones who bound your memories. They are the ones who dumped you over here after holding you captive for almost a week. According to Potter you refused to see reason."

"Reason?" he asked horrified. "What reason?"

"They wanted you to give Harry to them so they could properly beat him down and when the time came they could sacrifice him to end Voldemort," Fallon said with a straight face and Rick couldn't hold it. He ran to the kitchen sink and puked his guts out.

* * *

A/N: So, a first introduction. I know, I know, he changed his middle name to Edgar. But I like Alexander better (plus, an Alexander would be very important to Kate, (wink). Pretend his website did not have his middle name) and while I can see him having to add the Castle for publishing reasons I can't see him changing a name that was chosen by his mother in such an extreme situation.


	2. This was your life

A/N: So, second chapter. Yes, one after the other because I'm nice that way. Don't get spoiled. This is a WIP that's been brewing in my head in several formats for almost a year now, until I finally landed on this. And I have an idea of where I want to get but not a definite outline of how to get there. So updates may not be regular. But this WIP is how I got into Castle fanfiction. After I decided he'd be a good James Potter I started re-watching Castle and reading Castle fanfics to get a good grip on the character. I'd been just another regular Castle viewer who watched an episode and then didn't give the show much thought until the next one before that.

 **Chapter 2 – This was your life**

Three years in the homicide division had never made him puke, but Fallon's matter of fact delivery of such a horrible fact did. And as he finished puking his guts out on the kitchen sink, he raised his head and saw his son. Because he knew, as he had known Alexis was his when they woke up at Lenox Hill, he had known the second that he had laid eyes on the boy. This was his boy. His little baby. He felt his vision blur and realized he was not about to faint but that his eyes were tearing up. He mustered all his self-control and as he washed his mouth, he discretely wiped his eyes. He needed to be a parent now. Something Sorenson and Fallon clearly didn't know how to be. Seriously!

"Hey, Harry," he said trying for a friendly smile as he approached. "Do you like videogames?"

"Never played them sir," he said with a crisp British accent and Rick would have loved to say he was surprised at a nine-year-old who never played videogames but he had a feeling this would not be the last time he would learn something unpleasant today.

"Well, we gotta fix that right?" he tried being cheerful. "I've got Guitar Hero in my office. Why don't I set you up there so you can play while we have a grown up talk."

The boy just shrugged as if he had been accustomed to just being shuffled around and should just go with the flow. "Ok, but I've heard all this before." Sorenson and Fallon nodded calmly besides him clearly missing the death glare Rick was sending them.

"Just because you've been exposed to something inappropriate once doesn't mean we should keep doing it. Come with me," he extended his hand and after receiving a nod from Sorenson - freaking Sorenson gave his son approval to go with him - he followed Rick's lead, though Rick did not miss the fact that he made sure to always be out of arms reach at all times. Rick cued up Guitar Hero and showed Harry how to play. Then, because Harry seemed to be eyeing him and the plastic Guitar with distrust, he set the guitar down and smiled at his boy. He wanted to hug him so badly but he thought the boy would bolt. And after years of training of handling a scared bird scientifically known as the Katherine Beckett, he knew when to hold his instincts. "If you get tired of playing here is the remote. We got plenty of channels okay?"

"Kay," the boy nodded.

He crouched down but did not come closer. "I guess this is all very scary. I'm kind of confused and I'm going out there to find out the truth. But I want you to know that I'm your dad and I will always protect you, okay? I don't know what happened but I do know that much. You have a home now, kay?"

The boy shrugged, "They said you couldn't remember me. That the Dumblesfore bloke made you forget."

Rick bit his lip to keep from grinning at the mispronunciation of the name of a man who thought himself so powerful and important. "He made me forget my whole life," Rick said as he remembered the doctors explaining they found a memory bind that was too powerful to break without killing them. "But he never managed to make me forget _you_. I – " he stuttered trying to hold off the awful memory at bay. "I thought you were dead. I remembered you dying. I don't know what they did and I don't know how but I'm going to find out okay? And then we'll figure things out, kay? Together?" he felt the boy needed to hear that. He didn't know why but he knew enough to know he would not enjoy Fallon and Sorenson's explanation.

"Kay."

"I'm gonna go talk to Fallon and Sorenson."

"You don't like Will, how come?" the boy said simply as he strapped on the guitar and he realized his son may have more than just his looks from him. He hadn't said anything against Sorenson, so the boy had had to have read his body language.

"He's my partner's ex-boyfriend. He hurt her. I don't like people who hurt the people I love."

"She's your girlfriend," Harry nodded wisely.

"No," Rick spluttered, "Er, no, we work together, she's my partner, she's a cop, we're partners," he insisted, trying to convince himself.

"Is she Nikki Heat? Will said you're Richard Castle."

"What do you know about Nikki Heat?" that was certainly not age appropriate reading material.

"Dudley doesn't like the library and after we started school Aunt Petunia didn't want me underfoot until Dudley came back from his activities. So I stayed there and read a lot. I like Derrick Storm better, plus I didn't really understand what was going on on page 105 of Heat Wave. That all seemed pretty gross and unsanitary? I skipped most of it."

"Er, no, they were, er, showing how they cared for each other," oh my God! His son had read the sex scene he wrote envisioning himself and Kate. How inappropriate! Talk about walking in on your parents. "From now on I will supervise your reading materials. My books are not for young boys. We'll find something though. Okay," and he saw a book he really loved on the shelf, "Here," he handed Harry the book and the boy must have been too amused by his flustered state to protest. "Casino Royale is a classic."

"Wicked, James Bond. I love him!" the boy exclaimed.

"Me too, maybe we can read together." He smiled and his heart soared at Harry smiling at him. "I gotta go. But if you need me, I'll be just through the door."

Xx

"I activated the silencing ward," he said as he sat down and at the blank looks he elaborated, "My mother is loud and I write in there. Sometimes I need to block out the sound. I don't like to and always make sure my daughter knows but I don't call her Hurricane Martha for kicks." Well, maybe he did.

He didn't use much magic on his daily life, but he had been helping Alexis study runes one day, not long after Martha had moved back into the loft, and she was the one who came up with the idea and he didn't like to make Alexis uncomfortable about using magic just because he was. Because he knew they'd been hurt by magic.

Fallon smirked and then turned serious, "I guess this is the part where we explain."

"Yes," Rick nodded irritated.

"A couple of weeks ago a man named Sirius Black escaped the British Wizarding Prison Azkaban," Yes, he remember reading that on the paper. Voldemort's right hand man. "As part of the protocol the Minister for Magic informed the Prime Minister. The Minister for Magic guaranteed that everything was under control but the Prime Minister decided that an escapee from Azkaban that put non-magicals in danger was loophole enough to finally interfere. Then we found an even bigger one."

"What do you mean?"

"As you've pointed out, everyone knows the story of the Boy Who Lived. And while unlike in most countries, the British Wizards don't work with the non-magicals that doesn't mean the non-magicals in the know haven't adopted similar practices to ours. They are limited, after all, by working together, we are able to put in better wards and practices in place, but they still have the protocol of Law Enforcement, first responders and certain levels of government knowing about the Wizarding World. They can't go beyond that because of the treaties signed centuries ago that the Wizards refuse to change, but that means that the Prime Minister and his aides were quite aware of the Boy Who Lived, and when voicing his concern for the boy's safety to the Minister of Magic, since Black was allegedly Voldemort's second hand, the Minister for Magic said he wouldn't know how to look because the boy was with his non-magical family," Fallon continued his explanation.

"The Prime Minister saw a loophole here. First-generation non-magicals or even raised as first-generations are not under the purview of the Wizarding World in Britain until they reach the age of 11."

"Hogwarts age," Rick nodded. Several studies had shown that training one's magic before that was detrimental to a wizard or witch. The difference in the US was that while they weren't allowed a wand yet, the children were taught magical theory and history before such age, so that their curriculum wouldn't get to heavy once they could start practicing magic. By starting with the theory earlier, they were able to have the students continue both magical and non-magical curriculums without completely overloading them.

"Yes," Sorenson continued. "So the Prime Minister decided that being an underage child at risk that is under the purview of the non-magical government he had every right and duty to put Harry and his family under protective custody until the threat of Black was dealt with. So he sent a group of MI-6 agents to retrieve-"

"MI-6!" Rick gasped shocked.

"This is the symbol of the light we are talking about Castle!" Sorenson said irritated. "Voldemort and his Death Eaters ran unchecked and uncontrolled for over a decade. His attacks on non-magicals threatened to expose the Wizarding World and plunge everyone, not just the Brits, into another much worse and wide scaled version of the Witch Hunts. The whole world was debating what to do. Just a few days prior to his supposed downfall the International Confederation of Wizards and the UN had put up a proposal to declare Wizarding Britain at War with the rest of the world and take over their government since they couldn't control them. Harry Potter didn't just save Britain."

"I know," Rick snapped, even though he never bought that a baby had done anything. He thought that there was something they didn't know at play here.

"As I was saying," Fallon tried to regain control of the two men. "The Prime Minister sent an MI-6 team to retrieve Harry and his family and at first they didn't see anything wrong. Not until they left the perimeter of the wards."

"How so?"

"At first they saw a loving family with two healthy boys. But as soon as the car passed the perimeter the agents started hearing the Uncle hurling all kinds of threats at Harry. One of the agents described Harry as shrinking, bruises, and scrapes appearing on his body. Further studies found that there were wards on the house. Not only to keep magical Death Eaters out but for anyone that went there not to see anything but a loving family."

"That's –" Rick spluttered.

"Sick," Sorenson finished for him and Rick hated that they both agreed. "Apparently Dumbledore thought that the boy had to be broken down so he'd be pliable. He'd be some kind of savior to him and he'd do anything Dumbledore asked him without a second thought. He knew Lily Potter's sister had a problem with Lily. Envied her magic and that she was married to a violent bigot. So he made sure he did whatever he had to do to make sure Harry ended up there," he said waving his hand at Rick.

"Yes," Fallon nodded. "Once they realized what they were dealing with the Agents were quick to separate them and take Harry to receive medical care. They, as good detectives, also started digging into the family and everything else regarding Harry. They found several calls to social services from schoolteachers, a librarian Harry knew and even neighbors, who said they thought something was wrong but all the calls had been labeled us unfounded."

"Because when investigating they found a loving family," Rick grunted practically crushing his own fingers. He was not a violent man, despite his writing, very few times had he wanted to punch someone. Funnily enough, a certain NYPD detective was always the reason for his wishes. But right now he wanted to punch Albus Dumbledore so very much.

"They also found something very interesting that lead to our situation here today and the second loophole we mentioned," Fallon continued. "Turns out Harry is not a British citizen."

"Excuse me?" Rick asked perplexed.

"Lily Potter wasn't British. Her mother and older sister were but she was born while her parents had been living here, in the US. And her father was an expatriated American citizen who worked for an American company in England. The year Lily was born he had been called back for administrative reasons."

"And because she was born outside of Britain she didn't have the right to the British citizenship," Rick continued. He had researched it once for one of his books. "But being born here she was American."

"Exactly, and for reasons unknown you never registered either of your children as British citizens only in the American Consulate-"

He didn't know how but the knowledge popped in his head, "We were in the middle of a civil war. You can't stop a minor from going back to their country even without parental consent but you can stop them from leaving their country. If they weren't British they had the right to come here no matter what happened to me or their mother and no one could stop them," he felt sure of this.

"Well, that gave the Crown the right to act," Fallon stated. "Since Harry was an American citizen, the British government, Magical and Non-magical, had the duty to inform the American government and we would be the ones to place him. Even if we had placed him with family in England. By breaking international protocol, they allowed us to bring in the government party who broke the protocol. In this case Charlus Potter and Albus Dumbledore. Both members of the Wizengamot at the time."

"Potter broke first once he realized he was being charged with kidnapping. With the information that Harry was American, the Crown contacted the American embassy and the proper placement procedures for an orphaned minor began. Starting by reading the parent's wills. Imagine their surprise when contacting Gringotts they found out the wills had never been executed."

"If they had tried to execute the magical will of a living person the magic would automatically react alerting the proper authorities," Fallon explained. "In this case the British Department of Magical Law Enforcement and us, because of your children and Lily, which is what happened as soon as we tried. We were able to see the wills though - as part of the investigation into your whereabouts - and your will clearly stated that your children were to go nowhere near the Dursleys, Charlus Potter or Albus Dumbledore's. Lilly's will just left guardianship to you and deferred to any decisions you made."

"Charlus Potter?" he asked. Why wouldn't he want his father to get his grandchildren? Well the man had ended up being in the middle of this, but had he known?

"Oh Castle, your life could be a soap opera," Sorenson snorted and Fallon glared at him.

"As stated, Potter folded first when he realized that this wasn't just a breach of protocol anymore. This was kidnapping of an American citizen, alienation of parental rights, child endangerment, fraud and that was just what we knew at that point. So he spilled the whole sordid tale. Apparently there is some kind of prophecy that stated that a child born at the end of July would be the end of Voldemort, two children fit the role-"

"A prophecy!" Rick exclaimed irritated. "Future prediction is hogwash. Even I know that and anyone who knows me will attest I have a very open mind."

"I agree," Fallon sighed. "But what we think doesn't matter. Dumbledore and Voldemort believed in the prophecy and that dictated what happened. Mainly because no one over there ever questions Dumbledore. As I was saying. Two boys fit the bill. Harry and Neville Longbottom. Who, by the way, is Harry's second cousin. Your mother and Augusta Longbottom are sisters."

"I think everyone in the British Wizarding world is related," Rick snorted dismissively. They couldn't be much of a family if a whole bunch of their family went missing without them questioning it.

"Yes, well. Much like now - according to Potter - you didn't believe in the prophecy and you had decided you weren't going to wait around for Voldemort to try and harm your son. You and Lily Potter were divorced soon after Harry was born – I don't know the specifics?" Fallon stopped his inquiry. "I have the feeling that didn't endear you much to the traditionalists over there. You had full custody and you had decided to make use of your children's American citizenship and apply for a Visa here. You were granted one. You had a sizeable trust fund you had transferred to an American bank from your grandparents and two American children. We found the paperwork."

Rick shook his head at the irony. A sizeable trust fund sitting in a bank all along! He had a plan, a plan that included the means to support them and instead they were left with only the clothes on their backs and not a single penny. He rubbed his face. He was exhausted and drained and he had the feeling the worst was yet to come. Fallon continued.

"Apparently you were set to leave that night. We found the plane tickets that you missed. There was one for each of you leaving Heathrow for JFK. Had Voldemort arrived an hour later you would have been gone with your family."

"But he didn't," he mumbled.

"No," Sorenson continued with a sympathetic tone. "But he also didn't want to spill unnecessary pure blood, or so Potter said. He incapacitated you. He took you by surprise. You had the house under a Fidelius Charm and the Secret Keeper betrayed you. That is part of why Black was arrested."

"He was the Secret Keeper?" Rick asked.

"Turns out, no. But he was your best friend, your I don't know how many times cousin. Your kids' godfather and the most obvious choice. Which is why instead you chose another friend. A guy no one would ever look at twice named Peter Pettigrew," Fallon continued.

"Made Black the decoy," he nodded.

"Yeah, but he framed Black, killing all the people Black was accused of killing in the process. Dumbledore and Potter knew this, but Black was next in line for custody and they didn't know if he'd go along with the plan, so they decided that better safe than sorry and let Black be carted to Azkaban without a trial."

"Jeez," Rick cried.

"Black didn't help himself by refusing to testify," Sorenson picked up the narrative. "But that's another story. Voldemort didn't even try to kill you. Since you weren't expecting anyone who wasn't in on the secret to be able to walk to the door all he had to do was knock to get you by surprise. He petrified you. Petrified your sleeping daughter for good measure and proceeded to Harry's room."

"Wait, where was Lily? The stories say she sacrificed herself for Harry."

"She wasn't even in the house," Fallon snorted. "According to Potter she wasn't cut out to be a mother. Didn't much pay attention to your first child and when she got pregnant a second time she decided to cut her losses short. She hadn't seen any of you in over a year."

"So why involve her?"

"Custody again," Sorenson added. "They at first retrieved her to see if she agreed with the plan but even not wanting to be a mother she didn't want to harm her children. So they decided to get rid of her too. We're getting there. Anyway. Voldemort goes to Harry's room. Something happens, he gets blown up. None of you actually saw what happened so Potter didn't know the details. Apparently, when Voldemort got blown up you were freed. You ran to get your children out of the house which was on fire."

"That's where the memory comes from?" Rick nodded.

"Yeah. They modified one of your memories a bit. They had tried to bind everything that was related to your identity but couldn't make you forget you had kids. So they made you think Harry was dead," Fallon explained. "You ran out and, as any normal person would do, you sounded the alarm for the Aurors, the problem was you didn't know Potter was the one who got the alarm. He was the Head Auror at the time and by chance had been at work and he alerted Dumbledore. They are the ones who showed up. At first, you didn't suspect anything, after all, Voldemort was apparently dead and all you were doing was taking your children to safety. To the house you grew up in. Your mother and sister were there. Problem was, when Dumbledore and Potter came back, they told you Voldemort wasn't really gone and Harry had a destiny. That they had put a plan in motion. They needed to get Harry back to the house. You wanted nothing to do with the stupid plan of taking a baby back to a flaming house and apparently your mother and sister didn't agree either. You were fighting with Dumbledore when Potter got you from behind. Apparently, being the master of the house he was able to immobilize the girls too. They kept you all for a week. By then they had brought Lily too. As I said, to first try to convince her, but then they just added her to the bunch. Potter said that her heroic death as a mother would make everyone believe you were back together and forget the humiliation of the divorce."

"Oh God," Rick moaned.

"You know the rest. They dumped you guys here without any memory. With Lily they were a bit more generous. They gave her fake memories, a fake past, fake credentials close to the ones she had in England and a bank account. I guess they thought that you could jog each other's memories and didn't want the coincidence of another person with a memory block being found. Over there they declared you dead heroes and proceeded to dump Harry in the worst possible situation."

"How did you get mixed up-"

"They ran a DNA search," Sorenson explained. "With Harry's blood, and a case search. They didn't expect to find Lily. But you guys. With the date and the place you were dumped, you were easy to find. DNA came back as a match. There's a match for your ex-wife too, but since you had full custody they figured you were the better choice. We got called because Homeland and the FBI became involved as soon as they dispatched Harry over here and they saw your record with the NYPD and decided to send Agents you knew."

Will shrugged when Rick gave him a sardonic look, "Jordan Shaw not available?"

"She's a profiler. Not missing persons. This is a kidnapping case."

"Thanks," he said sincerely. "This is –" he rubbed his face again. "This is crazy but it feels right. Like I know this story."

"You do," Fallon said. "It's just locked up. And about that…"

"What?" Rick didn't think he could take any more.

"Your memory bind is tied to Voldemort's life," Sorenson stated.

"He's dead," he stated even though Fallon had said Dumbledore thought he was alive. Dumbledore also thought kidnapping a child was okay, so he didn't put much stock on what he thought.

"Not exactly," Fallon cringed and proceed to explain the horror of Horcruxes. Apparently, upon arrival in the States Harry was given a full magical health scan and among the many problems from malnutrition and beatings that had Rick seeing red and that he will have to heal, they found a piece of Voldemort's freaking soul. They guaranteed the soul was completely isolated and not harming or influencing Harry, and that they could and have removed it. They considered it an emergency procedure and didn't wait for parental consent. Rick agreed and was so thankful that monster was not touching his son any more in any capacity. They were going to use the piece of soul they had contained to locate the others. He didn't want to know the details. He just wanted Voldemort taken care of so he couldn't hurt his family any more.

"There's more but I think you need time to digest this part before we move forward," Fallon said. "And the investigation is still going on. We are pressing charges with the British Wizarding government for anyone involved in helping Dumbledore in this but there are at least four prominent members of their society involved, your Aunt Augusta Longbottom kept the wills from being executed, Minerva McGonagall placed the ward that kept people unaware of what was going on in the Dursley household and Potter and Dumbledore."

"You're saying they will walk," he said angrily.

"Dumbledore and Potter no. They were both members of the Wizengamot at the time and broke international law. The Crown is allowed to intervene and prosecute them or extradite them. They have already extradited them. Given the Wizarding World's worship of Dumbledore they weren't confident they would prosecute or even detain him. But we have given our word that should the Wizengamot decide to prosecute them we will take them back, if not, we will prosecute them. I just want to warn you of the possibility that the others will walk. But I think you had enough for today. There's a little boy in there who you need to get to know and I imagine you have a lot of explaining to do to your family. You will take him, right?"

"Of course!" he cried indignantly.

Sorenson had the gall to smile, "Never doubted you for a second. But we had to ask. Let's say goodbye to the little guy. He's actually a version of Castle I like." Rick huffed but accompanied them to the office anyway.

Xx

A/N – Okay. This is a fact. I don't know how British citizenship laws are today (I searched online but everything was very confusing), but I do know someone - who actually happens to share an age with our dear Potter parents - who does not have a British citizenship exactly for this reason. She was born outside of Britain to a British mother and a Brazilian father. Both her siblings are British because they were born in Britain but to this day this person does not have the British citizenship because she was born outside of Britain. That's why I made Lily's father American. I don't know if that makes a difference but since in the case I know the father wasn't British, I thought best to mimic the same situation. I researched British citizenship but I didn't understand if the father being British made a difference. And I looked up the American citizenship. So, as stated, if you are born in the US you can be American even if your parents aren't and if you are not born in the US but one of your parents is American, you have the right to the American citizenship. At least that's what the website said. And like I said, I needed a way to get them here.

Also, as someone who spent her childhood travelling as an unaccompanied minor, I can state that the whole you can't stop a minor from going back to their country even if they don't have parental consent is true. Never had to show the parental consent going back, just going out.

The rest is completely made up. I have no idea if the Americans need to be notified and since the British Wizarding world is fictional anything pertaining to them also is.

Also, Harry is nine, while I know children are precocious nowadays I could see a child being confused at exactly what was going on in a sex scene, and I felt that him reading Nikki Heat might not just be good fodder for funny scenes but yet another instance of his neglect. There was no one there to stop him reading a book that is not appropriate for his age.

I know that in canon Augusta Longbottom is not related to James's mother and James's mother is not Dorea Black but I have a reason to want James/Rick and Frank to be first cousins that will be made clear later on. Plus, I wanted them to be Blacks, because, well, you'll see. So, that is one of those AU things that I've implemented.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


	3. Being there

A/N: Here comes the first of the other fandom characters. I always thought the fact that Castle had no close friends other than the ones he made in the show weird. The guy was 37 when the show started and had a successful career not to mention a life before that career. So I wanted to give him friends outside that circle. Friends that are his and not through Beckett. One of them is our dear Sherlock Holmes from the BBC Sherlock series (not Elementary, I don't like that Sherlock, but Benedict Cumberbatch's is genius. And he's shown that as much as he likes to say he is a high functioning sociopath, his Sherlock actually is quite fond and loyal to his gathered family). In this story there is no Watson and Sherlock gravitates between England and NY. Again, bear with me. I love Watson, but you'll see later why I don't have him here. Castle is **not** going to be his Watson. He's going to be more of a fuzzy warm big brother to contrast Mycroft. The other friends are Elizabeth and Peter Burke from White Collar. I wanted to honor how this story started and give Harry some potential friends, plus, the confusion of names Peter Pettigrew, Peter Burke was too good to pass. And this is where I said I tweaked the characters. Peter Burke is an FBI agent in the White Collar division. His wife Elizabeth is an Event Planner, just like in the show. Neal Caffrey and Mozzie on the other hand are not adults! Nope. Just because I always loved a fatherly relationship between Peter and Neal I have shrunk Neal, and in turn, his partner in crime, Mozzie. They are children, Harry's age. Neal was adopted by the Burkes. And because I wanted Mozzie to have a family but I also liked his foster care beginnings, that is where Modern Family comes in, because Mozzie, not Lilly, is the first child Mitchel and Cameron adopt. So he is Lilly's adopted older brother. I felt that this would be a bonding point between the boys, that they all came from a difficult background but now have stable families. Like I said, you don't actually need to know the shows. Nothing much about the show will interfere with this story and their significance to Castle will be explained in the story, but you might get a better visualization of the characters if you do. Well, now that that is explained, on with the chapter.

* * *

 **Chapter 3 – Being there**

"We're gonna have to decorate here to your taste. The last person to stay here was Kate, but that was a year ago. But dad still keeps her shampoo in the dresser."

"And she's not his girlfriend?" Harry asked in a clear dubious tone.

"They're complicated," he heard his daughter sigh. He was going to give up the guest room. He didn't mind. His son deserved his own room. Robin had said he could take hers since she had moved out while still in college but when he bought Serenity he had promised them a place they could always come back to. He hadn't expected his mother to take the offer up so soon after leaving. So their rooms had always remained untouched. Their rooms. If need be someone could crash in Robin's or Sherlock's room. But each would have their own. He approached the doorway but stayed out of sight. Harry seemed to be more comfortable with Alexis. Maybe because she wasn't an adult yet. Maybe because she didn't carry the appellation Aunt, like Petunia. He had thought of calling his sister just Robin but no, he wanted his son to be able to connect good attributes with the appellation. He would talk to the boys. See if they minded Harry calling them Uncle. He knew Sherlock and Peter wouldn't mind. Give that one a positive spin too.

He rubbed his eyes. He was exhausted. After Sorenson and Fallon had left he had texted his girls and asked them to come home ASAP – well, not all of them, there was the hermit one he didn't text and wanted so desperately to call, to talk about how his life had turned upside down. But he promised he wouldn't and he was a man of his word. Except for when he promises to stay in the car. He had then tried to bond with Harry. He was surprised. Harry was clearly wary and alert but he wasn't completely shy or mute as he had expected. Nor was he completely freaked out about the new situation, _"Can't be worse than what I left behind,"_ he had shrugged when Rick had questioned one too many times if he was okay. He had managed to feed him a snack, mindful of the doctor's instructions Sorenson had handed him. Apparently, Harry wasn't fed properly so he couldn't handle just any food without help. He needed to take Harry to see a pediatrician and had already made an appointment with Alexis's old one.

He also managed to coax out the fact that, much like had happened with them, what Harry was wearing, plus a few items in a bag Fallon left, were all Harry owned. The Dursleys only gave him castoffs from their son, which were too big and old, and to be able to get him through customs without calling unnecessary attention, the FBI had gotten him just enough clothes for a few days. He'd remedy that. He was pretty sure his mother was on the way of starting that when she announced she and Robin had errands to run and extended her hand for his credit card. He hoped Robin managed to mute his mother's taste. Well, her friend Lily would. He heard Robin calling her. She was a kindergarten teacher and though Harry was no kindergartner, he imagined Robin thought she'd have a better idea of what to buy a boy. They were used to Alexis, a girl. But they were good at gauging sizes so he was not worried.

The conversation with them had been painful. Hearing everything Fallon and Sorenson had explained had been hard but telling the story… Letting them know that his father, his mother's husband, and, apparently, also her sister, _family_ , were involved in all of this… In all the hurt they'd been through all those years ago, in all the hurt Harry had been through… was torturous. He had always wanted to protect them and he felt like a monster for hurting them that way. By telling a story. But he had to.

He would never forget that first year. Waking up disoriented, not knowing where he was. Realizing he didn't know his own name, couldn't remember his life. Seeing his mother, sister, his baby girl and knowing them. Knowing he loved them with all his heart but not being able to conjure up a single memory had been torture. But the fear came later. Once the doctors and police officers explained that while they would continue looking for answers they just couldn't keep them in the hospital. That first night at the shelter. The night he met Sherlock. Sherlock who was high as a kite and still managed to realize they had a mystery. Offer to take turns with him for sleeping. He hadn't. That first night. Too afraid someone would hurt his girls. Not trusting this stranger. The second night he hadn't managed not to. Not after not sleeping the night before and walking the whole day hoping someone would give him a job despite his complete lack of history and pending credentials. Once again Sherlock approached them, shared what he had. Rick asked what his story was. Sherlock acted like he had money. He spat back that they did too. Rick told him, what did he have to lose? So Sherlock answered.

"My parents and brother decided to go with tough love. Clean up or I'm cut off. I don't do well with orders," he smirked.

"What about deals?" Rick had asked.

"Continue," he answered shrewdly.

"You've been asking questions and inferring things about us non-stop."

"You're intriguing."

"Stay clean, and I'll let you continue to ask. Help me investigate, find out who I am." That night he fell asleep and in the morning he found out Sherlock had kept some creep who had been eyeing his sister with too much interest at bay. He'd been his little brother ever since and had been clean for the same eight years Rick hadn't known his given name. Because that was what Sherlock needed. Challenges. So he wouldn't look for the rush elsewhere. He brought him new challenges on the form of his stories. He made up the mystery Sherlock had to solve. He'd give him a bit more every day. Write on a notebook on his breaks from the bartending job he found. That was how "In a Hail of Bullets" was born. Five months in Sherlock convinced him to send his story to publishers. Rick convinced Sherlock to contact the police, offer his services. To this day Sherlock had an informal arrangement with the Precinct close to where the brownstone was and now the New Scotland Yard. Two months and twenty rejection letters later, Black Pawn contacted him. Two months after meeting them Sherlock came with the news that against his brother's wishes Mummy and Father had accepted his two months chip and granted him access to the house they had in New York. Thanks to Sherlock, he had a roof. Thanks to them, Sherlock had a family who didn't care he was different. A year and two months to the day he woke up with no memory, Rick bought the loft and named it Serenity, because as the show's theme song said; they could take pretty much everything from them but not their sky, not their hope and they had Serenity. And now Harry had Serenity too.

Xxx

 _Holly shit on a guacamole,_ was all Lanie could think as she dialed the number that better answer if she knew what was good for her. She had wondered what Mrs. R had wanted when she received the text asking her to meet at the Burkes at the end of shift. She had wondered even more when she saw the group assembled there. Elizabeth and Peter Burke of course. They were a nice people. She had only known them since meeting Castle. In the FBI's White Collar division Burke didn't have much need for the medical examiner's office. Elizabeth had been friends with Castle since "A Rose for ever after". After the success of his first book, Black Pawn wanted to launch the second with style, but they didn't want to spend too much on a newbie so they sent the assistant. They had bonded over being overnight parents and the fact that both Elizabeth and Neal were magical too. Yes, Castle knew that he wasn't really an overnight parent, but he felt that way since he had no memory of the first nine years of Alexis's life. Elizabeth and Peter had just adopted little Neal at the time, who had come from a less than ideal family situation after his biological father had turned State's evidence and gone to jail. Once Castle was in his fourth success in less than a year Black Pawn had decided he was a keeper and was moving him up on the launch party scale to a full-blown Event Planning Company. Castle refused, said he only worked with Burke Premier Events. Burke Premier Events didn't exist at the time and Elizabeth had been shocked when receiving the call that their wonder boy would only work with her inexistent company. She was quick on the uptake though. Lanie loved Elizabeth's cries of _"I didn't even get to choose my own company's name!"_ when telling the story. After a while, she had the main authors of Black Pawn vying for her. Nowadays she had a respectable business.

She had also seen a laptop opened and the familiar face of Castle's weird little brother on a Skype call. If you thought Castle was annoying, you hadn't met Sherlock. He had Castle's nosiness and none of the finesse. But he had been back in England for a while now, working with the New Scotland Yard.

Gina and Paula had been a total surprise. While she had met both the agent and the publisher before at launch parties, they had never been a part of this circle of friends.

Jim Beckett was another surprise. She didn't even know Castle knew him well.

Javi and Kevin had also been there but she hadn't seen little Neal anywhere and he was hard to miss. He always came rushing for a kiss and to lay down the charm. _"He wants something,"_ Peter would warn her. He did and she always gave him a chocolate. What can she say; she was a sucker for those baby blues. As in answer Elizabeth had said, "Neal's at his friend's Mozzie. We asked the Tucker-Pritchetts to keep him overnight in case this goes long. Martha sounded so serious."

"What do you think this is about?" she had asked.

"With this group, Rick," El had answered.

"Probably about his unnecessary moping," Sherlock had chirped from the Skype call.

"Sherlock!" El had admonished as Peter nodded.

"What?" Peter had defended. "She's coming back eventually. She's gonna have to report for duty." Lanie rolled her eyes, typical law enforcement. The boys had been saying the same.

"That's not the point," his wife had huffed as she moved to the door to answer the doorbell. Martha and Robin had come in with hands full of bags. She had noticed the logos of stores for children's clothing and a toy store. Why were they bringing Neal things? But she had soon found out they were not for Neal and she wished they had been.

"We asked you all here because I don't want Richard to have to tell this story yet again. I imagine he will have to during the trials but…if we can spare him at least having to repeat himself multiple times to his friends…" she ended with a sigh.

"What's this about Mrs. R?" Kevin had asked. Direct and polite, and with that friendly tone that only he has that makes you smile, but Mrs. R hadn't smiled.

"Our past," she had said and the story that followed had horrified every single one of them and she understood why Gina and Paula were there. They all did because when Mrs. R and Robin were done, they had all turned as one to the two women.

"We'll hold the press for as long as we can," Gina had stated and had glared at Paula until she too had nodded.

"I'll see what is being done over here," Sherlock had said without prompting and she knew that by tomorrow he would have managed to get himself every information needed. Both from the wizarding world as well as the non-magical.

So that is why, she was home with an open bottle of wine, Javi having left her alone saying he was going to play some Halo with Kevin – he was a smart man and knew what she had wanted to do – and her phone to her ear. The phone rang and rang and rang until the line dropped.

"Oh, no you don't," she snapped and sent a quick text of _'You better answer or else. This is 911'._

And then she called again. Apparently Kate wasn't that stupid.

"Lanie…" she had started but Lanie cut her off.

"Remember when you told me Castle promised you he'd be there by your side when you caught your mum's murderer and you promised you'd be by his side when he found out who he was? Guess what? You broke your promise, but then again you promised you'd call too so maybe you just don't take promises seriously!" Okay, maybe she was a tad too harsh but she was in a bad mood, a little boy had been tortured, her friend had been hurt and her other friend, who she had seen get shot, had performed CPR on, had disappeared for almost three months! Three months!

"What?" she heard Kate splutter. "Castle what, Lanie! What's going on? What happened? Lanie?" at the frantic sound of Kate's voice she sighed. Her anger sipping away and she relayed everything Mrs. R and Robin had told them, Kate had been uncharacteristically silent throughout the whole tale.

"How is he Lanie?"

"Miserable. He was working your case every day until the new Captain kicked him out. Then he worked from home but he hit a wall and without resources…well, you know. Then Gina was hounding him for the new book, so he had to deliver. Javi says that on Halo nights he just mopes around."

"No Lanie, about being James Potter, about what you just told me, about his son! Not about-"

"What you did to him," she deadpanned. She wasn't pulling any punches, "I don't know. Haven't seen him yet. Gotta figure out an excuse to go see him. We don't want to crowd Harry. Mrs. R says he's skittish. Good thing Castle has had years of practice with that."

"Not funny Lanie," Kate snapped.

"No, I agree. Not funny at all. When you coming back?"

"I still have two weeks of leave. I was going to come back next week."

"And now?"

"Now I have a promise to fulfill."

"Good."

xxx

The next day Rick's mind was swimming from everything the doctor had said. All that was wrong with his little boy.

"He is very powerful magically and that magic has been keeping him alive. With the extent of the neglect, if he had been any less powerful, he would have died from complications already."

Rick's heart had stopped there. He was sure of it. He had looked through the office's glass wall just to make sure Harry had still been there, playing a game on the iPad Alexis insisted on bringing with her. He was glad he seemed to have bonded with her. He could feel the tension coming from him in waves when the two of them were alone even though Harry tried very hard not to show it. This one time, when Rick asked Kate how she could stare down an armed murderer without flinching, without fear she had answered, _"Who says I'm not afraid. But if you let him know he won."_ He felt that was what Harry was doing, because he hadn't wanted to show fear in front of his abusers.

The doctor had gone ahead to explain in details how the malnutrition at a crucial development age had caused his organs to not develop properly. His bones were more fragile due to lack of calcium and some of them had been broken before and not set properly. Thankfully, Harry was magical, which meant that unlike a non-magical child he would be able to take potions to remedy the underdevelopment of his organs. Help him digest things he wasn't currently able to. He would have to be on a strict potion and food regimen for probably over a year, maybe more. One of the perks of a merged society and the fact that medical personnel was one of the categories in the know, is that magical people were able to get the best of both worlds. Rick had nodded, that was doable. The hard part was his bones. Much like the organs the potions would take care of the lack of calcium and strengthen the bones. But for the ones that weren't set properly the best option for a growing boy was to vanish the problematic bones and regrow them and Rick knew that that was a very painful experience. He didn't want to cause any more pain to his son, but to leave the bones as were could cause future problems.

"This procedure can only be done after we have corrected the effects of the malnutrition anyway, or else the new bones will grow with the same problem," the doctor had wisely interjected. "Hopefully, by then Harry will have understood that you are not willingly causing him pain." And he had touched in one of his fears. As a father, of course, he would do anything to spare his children pain, but he also feared Harry would see this as a sign of the continuation of the abuse. "I am also recommending a very good child psychologist who specializes in cases like Harry's. With all due respect Mr. Castle, I believe that considering the situation, Harry might not be the only one in the family to benefit from some help dealing with all of this."

Rick had numbly nodded and they had left the doctor's office with a long prescription for Harry and a schedule of return visits for the next year as well as follow up exams Harry would have to endure. He had been very stoic today as he was prodded by the doctor, as he entered the MRI machine, had his blood taken and as they practically spent the whole day between the hospital and the doctor's office. Rick had expected whining and complaining. Alexis, who had always been an easy child, often whined when having to deal with doctors. But not Harry and as every little sign like this of the abuse he had suffered presented itself, Rick's heart hurt for his little boy, whom he had always loved even never knowing him. He needed to make things right, he needed to make sure no one would ever hurt him again and that he would be allowed to have a normal childhood.

As they were walking towards the subway he saw the park he used to take Alexis to until she got too old for the park. He hadn't been able to take her for long. She'd been the same age as Harry and had soon outgrown running around. But that first year he had spotted the park coming back from his shift at the "Old Haunt" and the next day had brought Alexis there. He sent his mother a quick text to let her know they'd be home later than expected and changed directions.

"Dad, subway is that way," Alexis called.

"No, we have somewhere more important to be," he called as he dragged Harry towards the park. Harry hadn't wanted to hold his hand. Wary of him. Arguing he was too old for handholding and that in Surrey he just walked the town alone.

 _"This isn't a suburb,"_ he had said simply. _"New York can be a dangerous city. I know you're uncomfortable but this is not negotiable. I promise I won't hurt you."_

 _"I know,"_ he had rushed to say but Rick knew he was lying.

As he crossed the street he asked Alexis, "Remember this?" and she shook her head exasperated. "Okay Harry, what should we do first?"

Harry looked at him as if he had no idea. Of course he didn't. From what Fallon had emailed him of the report on what they had found of Harry's situation at the Dursleys, Harry wasn't allowed to play. He had to keep house. He only got more freedom – or in Rick's opinion more neglect, since Harry was not old enough to roam around alone – after he and his cousin started school and that was because his Aunt and Uncle didn't want people asking what Harry was doing home when Dudley was out doing one of the many afterschool activities he had, and as Harry said, he hid in the library, because the library was safe from Dudley and his gang.

"I think the monkey bars is a good start," Rick nodded to himself and Alexis looked skeptical. "Let's go," he walked towards the monkey bars. There weren't many kids Harry's age there. He figured they were 'too old' for the monkey bars, but since Harry looked a lot younger because of his size no one batted an eye.

"Okay, I'm gonna lift you up and you don't worry because I'm right here and I won't let you fall," sure as hell wouldn't, not after what the doctor said about fragile bones. But he also wouldn't let Harry miss more of his childhood because of his health either. He'd be careful, make sure he wasn't hurt, but he'd give Harry as normal a childhood as he could. He planned on calling El and Peter, see if they could schedule a playdate or something. Neal and his best friend Mozzie were easygoing children who wouldn't mind another partner in crime. "Ready?"

Harry shrugged, "I guess." He lifted Harry up, trying hard not to notice him stiffen and then said, "Now do as the other kids were doing. One hand after the other."

Harry was agile, despite any health issues and had no problem mastering the monkey bars at a speed that had Rick's heart in his mouth but he didn't say anything, because when Harry arrived at the end he had the biggest smile and so did Alexis. By the end of the hour, they had made the run of the toys and even Alexis had forgotten she was a proper teenager and had come down a slide or two with her brother.

He was now watching them from the swings as they continued to run around with what seemed like endless energy and he couldn't help but smile. He thought he was dreaming when he heard. "Hey Castle," from behind him. He was sure he was hallucinating when the owner of the voice sat on the swing next to him.

"Every day, Spring, Summer and Fall, uh?"

"What?"

"You told me you came here with Alexis, every day, Spring, Summer and Fall."

Right, he had. But how had she known? He narrowed his eyes, "You called my mother." He had texted her so she wouldn't worry.

"No, I knocked on your door," she answered swinging lightly back and forth. "You know? I'm pretty sure cloning of human beings is frowned upon," she said and he followed her gaze to where Alexis was spinning Harry and a few other kids around on the merry-go-round. He had the biggest smile on.

"He's not identical to me," he huffed because he felt he had to. Really, almost three months of nothing and she just sits there as if she hadn't disappeared with his heart.

"Right, your mother said he had manners," she smirked at him and he grinned back and then caught himself and went back to scowling. Focus Rick, you are angry. Don't let her make you forget that just because she looks at you with those eyes.

She sighed looking down, she knew she had her job cut out for her. How she longed to wrap her arms around him and tell him everything would be okay, to have been there for him when he had heard this sordid tale. When Harry had first shown up. She knew that no matter how much he said he had accepted he'd never get his memories back he was just trying to convince himself as much as she'd been trying to convince herself she had put her mother's case to rest, before he came along and gave her the courage to be honest with herself. She had never stopped. She had let that case define her even after she closed the box and she would have eventually opened the box again and she was so thankful he'd been there with her.

But she wasn't there for him and she was to blame because she was the one who lied to his face, she was the one who ran from his declaration of love. A love that saved her, that tethered her to life. A love she felt too but that scared her because she knew. She knew a long time ago that he was her one and done, and she was so scared she'd screw it up and she couldn't bear the thought of him not being in her life, "Always," seeing her as less than the perfect extraordinary woman she believed him to think of her. She didn't want him to see her broken. So she hid, and now he was here, alone, and his world was crumbling around him and she had not been here with him.

She couldn't believe what Lanie had told her. Eight years ago, the Castles woke up at Lennox Hill where the nurses had found them dumped on the ER's door with a note saying they were related and nothing more. Not their names, not their ages. The mandatory magical test revealed they were all magical, so they had been treated on the magical ward, which was able to determine their ages with a spell and DNA testing corroborated the relations the note claimed. But further than that, no one found anything. Not the doctors a way to restore their memories, not the police a clue to who they were. That is actually how Castle met Montgomery, he was in charge of the initial investigation and Rick would check in with him every week for news.

Eventually they became poker buddies and that was why Montgomery had been so open to Castle shadowing her. He knew both of them had a dark unresolved past and thought they could help each other. Eventually the state let them choose new names and made them official and directed them to the nearest shelter. Rick got a job as a bartender at the bar he would later buy and save, Martha tried odd jobs here and there until one day she got a job as an extra on a commercial, and the lead actress was a no-show. Martha was the right body type and without time to wait more, the director asked if she would read the part. He liked her and asked if she'd audition for a play he was directing. And Martha Rodgers Broadway star was born.

Rick wrote, on his spare time. He wrote to make sense of his life. He solved a fictional mystery with his buddy Sherlock because he couldn't solve his own and eventually that mystery was published and he became Richard Castle, Master of the macabre. She remembered the day he told her the story of when Black Pawn finally accepted to publish his story, that day they were investigating the murdered lottery winner and she asked about how his windfall affected him and he told her how he also went a little crazy, after months of not being sure of how to put food on the table, of worrying about his sister's future, who was just a teenager getting her GED back then.

 _"No, first thing I did was buy the loft and then make a college fund for Robin. I didn't want her to be like me, no qualifications. Having to accept whatever job came my way because even though I knew all these things I couldn't prove how I did."_

That was the Richard Castle she loved. Oh he liked to hide behind the wiseass façade and she took a while to figure out that was exactly what that was, a façade, a mask to protect himself, but once he let you in you saw that he was first and foremost a family man and that he'd do anything to protect his family.

That is how she knew this had to be killing him. They stole his _son_! Someone who he would have protected from birth and for someone to just snatch that right away from him in such a manner and put his son through so much hurt… and to learn that his own father was one of the people who destroyed everything that he was. Used his child as a pawn. Someone like Castle, who was a father first couldn't possibly begin to understand. She knew her Castle would have been broken by that.

She needed to be with him. He needed her. And who was she kidding, she needed him. But she had been too scared. Too scared of his confession of love, too scared of her love for him so she ran and hid. But no more, he had always been there for her and now she needed to be there for him. Even if she couldn't yet admit her feelings for him.

So this morning she had looked around her father's cabin and made up her mind. She had two more weeks of leave, but she was physically recovered. She'd go back, and they'd work together and she'd be there, and he'd know he could rely on her even if she couldn't say the words back to him yet.

When she knocked on his door, she had been a jumble of nerves but he wasn't there and Martha welcomed her as if she'd never left, with a knowing smile, directing her to this park.

"Look I know you're angry."

"You're damn right I'm angry," he said turning to face her. "I watched you die in that ambulance. Did you know that? You know what that's like? Watching the life drain out of someone you lo- " he seemed like he was going to correct himself but instead he plunged forward. "someone you love."

And as she did best, she pretended he was talking generically, as her friend and partner. As he'd say he loved Espo or Ryan. As they did say so after the warehouse and Lockwood, after almost all four of them dying, back at the Old Haunt after quite a few drinks celebrating life _. "I love you guys you know that?"_

"I told you I needed some time."

"You said a few days."

"I needed more."

"You should have said that. Must be nice to be able to just run away like that. Wish I could but I have people who depend on me to go back to," he said turning around and looking at his children once again and she felt like dirt. Because she bet he did. She bet right now all he wanted was to hide in his office, in his blanket fort with a bottle of Scotch and instead he was here, taking care of his children. She took a plunge. Tried some honesty even if not all. Tried to open just a little bit and hope that was enough.

"Castle look, I couldn't call you. Okay? Not without dragging myself into everything that I was trying to get some space from. I needed some time to just work through everything."

"Josh help you with that?" he asked and she winced. She hoped he hadn't thought she had dismissed him to be with Josh. She hoped he had more faith in them than that but she could see in his eyes that yes, that was one of his fears. And why wouldn't he? After being betrayed by his own father, he was probably questioning the loyalties of everyone around him.  
"We broke up," she gave him and looked at the children as he fumed by her side, she turned to the bag she had brought and pulled the advance copy of Heat Rises she had received on the mail out.

"I liked the dedication," she said running a finger though the book.

"Seemed right."

"Must have been hard writing that ending."

"Yeah, yeah. Given the circumstances, yeah," he said looking at his watch. Okay, so small talk wasn't going to work.

"So, why did you guys break up?" no beating around the bushes then.

"I really liked him," but he wasn't you, she finished in her head. "That wasn't enough." She hoped he understood what she was about to say. She needed him to understand that she loved him, but she needed time. She needed time to be able to be the person he deserved. "After my mother was killed something inside me changed. Is like I built up this wall inside. I don't know I guess I just didn't want to hurt like that again. I know I'm not going to be able to be the person I want to be, I know I'm not gonna…" she faltered but she needed him to know, "I'm not going to be able to have the kind of relationship that I want," with you, "until that wall comes down. And it's not gonna happen until I put this thing to rest."

"Well, then I suppose we're just going to have to find these guys and take them down. Doesn't mean I'm not still mad," he looked at her and she nodded. "I really needed you Kate. I just needed to know-" he stopped looking forward and shaking his head and pursing his lips like he does when he bites back what he wants to say, "I needed to know you were okay. You weren't dead."

"Lanie told me what happened," she tried to change the subject from dangerous waters.

"The guy was my father Kate. I don't remember him, but he was my father. How could he do that to his children, his grandchildren? He sold us out."

"I'll never sell you out."

He looked at her and she could see the doubt. Not because he doubted her but because he was doubting himself. His ability to see if he was being played or not.

"I'm not Castle. I know I screwed up okay. I – believe me, Lanie already lectured me."

"Everyone was worried Kate, we were worried. We wanted to help and all we had was news from your dad who also only knew that you were okay enough to be at his cabin alone. He's been a mess you know? Worried sick. We meet for baseball games. I wanted to make sure he didn't fall off the wagon. Sometimes he comes for dinner. He and mother have been bonding over their stubborn children, as she says. I think she is talking about Robin."

"I doubt it," Kate smiled, she hadn't known that. She just texted her dad every now and then but once she was well enough to be out of bed, she had kicked him back to the city. She couldn't stand his hovering anymore. She was glad Rick was there for him. She could see the Castles just taking him in as they did her. Without many questions, just putting one more place on the table and giving him a key to Serenity. She still had hers, from when she stayed there after her apartment had blown up. "I know, I just.-"

"You don't like people seeing you wounded. You like to lick your wounds alone. That's who you are. But you make things harder for yourself and for those who love you that way." He wasn't holding back. At least not on this. "I'm a mess Kate. I still don't know what way is up. I'm questioning every one of my relationships, my judgement…Fallon said I went with them. I clearly trusted these people who had no problem hurting me and my family," he shook his head disgusted with himself, "I don't know how to start helping my son on what he went through. My daughter. And their mother? I don't even know her name yet. I completely forgot to ask yesterday, but I didn't get the feeling she was mother of the year. How do I help my sister, who was just told that her own father didn't think twice before obliterating who she was, who we all were up to our accents. They used some spell that is used to help people learn languages to make sure we spoke in another accent. They took a spell meant to help people and erased who we were. My mother, my mother who was betrayed by her own husband of at least thirty years!" She saw him take a huge breath. "This is all screwed up. We're both screwed up and instead of helping each other, being screwed up together-"

"I know. I'm sorry. I'm here now. I just, I just need you to-"

"Wait for the wall to come down?"

"Yeah."

"And what if I want to help bring the wall down?"

"You are already helping. Lanie told me about what you did. Following the money trail. Trying to track down who the cops paid off."

"Kay," he nodded. "But I don't want to discuss the case here," he nodded towards his children who by now had seen them and were very poorly disguising their interest.

"Okay," she smiled back and got up. "Now introduce me to pint-sized Castle."

"He already knows you, he read Heat Wave," he said nonchalantly getting up and smirked as Kate spluttered imagining page 105.

xxxx

 **A/N:** And enters Beckett.

I know an abused boy should be shyer but canon Harry wasn't. He willingly went with Hagrid and Sirius both and as much as I am changing some characters to fit I also want to be able to be as true as possible to canon. I think Harry put up a front a lot, much like Kate. Don't let them see you weak and all, and I intend to explore this similarities between the two not just on their relationship but on how Rick deals with them.

This is as much as I have edited. I've got ideas and a bunch of stuff written that still needs editing and so the next update may be a while but I wanted to give you Kate and Rick back together.


	4. Settling in?

**Chapter 4 – Settling in?**

"That seems like a lot of waiting around," Harry said as he adjusted his brand new cap. Sunday had come and Rick wasn't about to let Jim down just because Kate was back. Alexis had never shown any interest in baseball and she was using this time to be with Ashley. He'd seen a lot more of Ashley this week since Alexis was torn between spending time with her boyfriend, who is about to leave for the other coast, and making sure her new little brother didn't feel neglected. So she compromised by bringing Ashley over. Rick had to exercise a lot of patience every time Ashley got frisky. He was sure he was black and blue with all the times Kate had pinched him.

She'd been around a lot this week. Her initial intention had been to go back to the precinct but after meeting with the boys and learning that the new Captain was a hard ass and their investigation had been stopped she decided to use the last two weeks of her leave anyway. They had checked the information Rick had gathered and had even gone to speak with the fireman responsible for the inspection of the warehouse that burned down with the bank's information. Kate had flown off the handle and Rick was glad she was still off duty because he had to pull her back. He was scared she was going to disappear again with the wall they'd hit but she had shown up later that day at the loft with the Firefly Season 1 box.

"Figured Harry should see the show his home is named after," she had smiled and he welcomed her in. He was especially happy when at the end of the first episode Harry declared with his mouth hanging open:

"I wanna be Malcom Reynolds for Halloween!"

Martha had regaled him with stories about Castle's famous Halloween parties when making him try on all the clothes she and Robin had bought and had assured him he would have to dress up too.

"Dad has the outfit," Alexis provided.

"I don't understand," Kate had asked. "Why did they bother with the DNA test again?" and Alexis had fallen back laughing as she looked at both Harry and Rick who were staring blankly at Kate while both munched on the popcorn they had squirted chocolate sauce on.

"No idea what you're talking about," Rick said with a straight face but secretly he was delighted when after offering to put some sauce on everyone's popcorn, and expecting the usual rejection, Harry said yes, and then repeated the process when the sauce had dwindled down. His son had his good taste!

He was also glad Alexis had been her normal self with Kate. His daughter hadn't been happy with his detective during the summer. Always scowling when her name was brought up. He knew he was at fault, he hadn't managed to completely hide his depression from Alexis as the days, weeks and months went by without word from Kate, and Alexis was fiercely protective of him. They all were fiercely protective of each other. He didn't know if that had always been the case or if it was a consequence of what happened to them. Of a beginning of not knowing who they could trust because they had no idea if the new people they were meeting weren't also whoever had done this to them.

Sherlock and Elizabeth were by far his best friends in the world, other than Kate. His family. But he wasn't naïve. They had a lot of patience with him, waiting for him to finally let his guard down, let them in. And that coming from Sherlock, who liked to kid himself saying he was a functional sociopath, was saying a lot. Rick always snorted when he said that. Sherlock was the sociopath with more loved ones in the world. He was all talk. But sometimes, so was Rick. He thought of Kate's wall and realized he had a wall of his own. The difference was he didn't seem to have one because he was social, he talked to everyone, was always smiling.

But before Kate came along there had only been two people who had been able to really breach the high Castle walls he had built around himself and his family. And that was by sheer stubbornness. Sherlock, well because he, much like Rick, had no shame, and Elizabeth, because she wasn't one to be deterred by anything when she decided you were family. Kyra had never gotten totally in and he had loved her. Maybe that was why she asked for time. They'd been together for over a year. They had met at the Old Haunt, when he was bartending and she had been with him when he went from Ricky Rodgers bartender to Rick Castle published writer. But at the same time he'd never let her meet Alexis. She only met his mother because Kyra wanted to introduce him to his parents and thought the introductions would go smoother if they made a whole meet the parents deal. Needless to say, that didn't go well. Her parents were not impressed with the single dad, amnesiac bartender with pretenses of becoming a writer and the actress mother at all and his mother had not liked the uptight couple looking down on her son. That had been the beginning of the end for him and Kyra, he saw that now. He also saw his walls for what they were. But in the process of trying to reach Kate he ended up bringing down the gates, letting her and the boys really in, which in turn had encouraged his sister to make close friends too.

Up until then Robin had been all business. She had a purpose. She wanted to become a journalist, possibly an International Correspondent – he worried about that. She managed to get into a good college despite her lack of school history, and, in his opinion, aided by an eye-tearing, heart-wrenching essay about their situation and her aspirations that he may or may not have helped her write. Before she was done with college she had also amassed quite the CV with journalistic oriented internships and was currently the news anchor at Metro News 1. And yes, Rick realized that he was probably one of the few viewers they had, and some stories were, well, out there, but she had to start somewhere. But she hadn't made friends, real friends until she met Ted, Barney, Lily and Marshall. She had colleagues, classmates she went out with like he had poker buddies, mentors – and never let Patterson hear that – he bounced ideas of but didn't really let in. But no one who really knew Robin Castle.

When Kate had crashed one of his Storm launches because someone was mimicking crime scenes from his books, she had changed all of their lives, not just his.

"The game is all about the statistics," Jim explained enthusiastically. "Just wait and see. You've never known sports before you've experienced baseball."

Harry looked at him dubiously but nodded. Rick smiled at the interaction and as he remembered Kate's comment when he explained how he had arranged the weekly meetings. _"You like using 'book research' as an excuse to stalk Becketts."_ Not to mention when she found his plot hole _, "Wait, isn't Peter a big baseball fan?"_ to which he had answered, _"No idea what you are talking about,"_ and proceed to stuff his mouth with a bagel so she couldn't continue questioning him.

Jim had been especially excited when they picked him up. Rick had at first attributed the newfound happiness to his daughter's return but as they rolled through the subway, Rick realized he was being completely ignored. Jim's attention was solely on Harry and he had had to cough really hard not choke on his own saliva from surprise when Harry had called him Mr. and Jim had answered:

"None of that. I'm Grandpa Jim. After all, we all know it's just a matter of time."

"Ah, what, no, what?" he spluttered.

"Rick says Kate isn't his girlfriend," Harry shook his head with a look that said he didn't believe him.

"They actually think they are fooling people," Jim nodded exasperated.

Rick sighed and vowed never to repeat this conversation to Kate. His heart constricted as Harry took Jim up in his offer. He had been calling his mother Grams, as she had flat out ordered him the first time he said Mrs. Rodger, but he had yet to call Rick dad.

 _"_ _Grandparents aren't something he ever envisioned. Dad, however is a myth. Someone he thought about a lot. This all-powerful person who would one day come and save him from the Dursleys. A superhero,"_ the child psychologist had explained to him after his first session with Harry. _"Let him come to trust you in his own time, he'll get there. Meanwhile, why don't you tell him to call you Rick instead of Mr. Castle?"_

At least he had managed that. Being called Mr. Castle by his own son was really bothering him. He couldn't believe that less than a week had gone by since Fallon and Sorenson had brought Harry. So much had changed. Not only for him but for those around him.

A couple of days after the big reveal, El had enough of being patient, and apparently so had the others, the problem was, they hadn't coordinated. He had seen the boys when he and Kate had snuck into the precinct for information the day before but they hadn't seen Harry yet. So imagine his surprise when everyone of their circle of friends seemed to find an excuse to show up announced, one after the other. Ryan and Espo had come to bring them copies of the files they had pulled for them. Copies they didn't really need with a lame:

"Better to be well documented."

Lanie had showed up with a dish he supposedly had forgotten at her house the last time she had hosted something – which was months ago. Before Kate had left for the woods – and that he didn't recognize at all. He was sure he had taken wine to that little soirée, and he might not remember the first thirty-two years of his life, but other than that, he was really proud of having quite the ability to recollect the smallest of details. He had welcomed her in with a raised eyebrow and completely ignored her, "Kate, fancy seeing you here?" and her waggling eyebrows. Yes, like he said. Kate had been around. They'd used his office to go over the case in private extensively. She had only left to go home and to a doctor's appointment, which she had guaranteed him was nothing to worry about. No need to make a fuss about it.

And lastly but not least, El had shown up with Peter and Neal in tow and a list of paperwork he'd need to arrange for Harry to attend school in a few weeks, as well as a list of schools which included the one Alexis had attended, and the one Neal currently attended, highly highlighted by the way. She wasn't trying to be subtle. He had worried Harry would be overwhelmed with all the people but he had to give his friends credit. After the initial introductions, his friends had studiously ignored the children, or very effectively pretended to, and maintained an adult conversation for a couple of hours while Neal showed Harry everything and anything he could about Rick's gaming system, which Neal had always enjoyed very much, as if they'd been old friends. He saw Harry had been a bit alarmed at Neal's high voltage enthusiasm but Kate had whispered something in his ear and he had then warily accompanied the other boy. After everyone had left, as he was seeing her to the door, he had asked:

"What did you tell Harry that made him go with Neal?"

"I told him that was my first reaction to you too," she said simply shrugging her jacket on. "But that in the end you were harmless and fighting the flight instinct was worth it," she smiled getting on the elevator and leaving him stunned behind.

But the more the week went on and the more he saw the similarities between Harry and Kate. She was right, at times you saw that he felt overwhelmed by the boisterous nature of the Castle family, but he also didn't back down. He faced everything with courage he might not really be feeling and the best they could do was try and make him feel welcome. Continue as they would, because he wouldn't appreciate being made the center of attention by them singling him out with changed behaviors.

He was also sure that the fact that from what he learned of the Dursleys - who he was happy to have found are facing charges - they couldn't be more different. Being everything they would turn their noses at would help Harry understand eventually that the problem was never him, but the Dursleys.

He smiled as he saw Jim and Harry take their seats as Jim continued to excitedly tell Harry about the game. He understood Jim, he absolutely adored Alexis, but sometimes he had wanted to have a boy who wouldn't roll his eyes at him about doing boy things and apparently Jim had decided he had just gained the grandson he had feared he'd never have. He just really hoped Jim had more sense than to say this to Kate. He liked being alive thank you very much and would not appreciate being in the wrong end of her gun.

Xx

"You don't know if he isn't working for them Castle!" Kate cried angrily almost a week later. Just a few days short of the end of her medical leave when he had rushed to her apartment after a night spent in torment trying to decide what to do about a phone call he received.

"No, I don't. What I know is they are giving you an out and they will kill you if you pursue this and I can't lose you!" he snapped back. He brought a fist to his mouth frustrated, and ran a hand through his hair. Choking back the tears that wanted to come out at the mere thought of Kate not being in his life.

He had contemplated not telling her. They had hit a wall anyway. Weren't going anywhere. He could just steer her away like the mysterious Mr. Smith had told him to do. But he couldn't. He couldn't lie to her. Not when so much of his life was turned upside down because of lies. So he decided he would convince her to stop with the investigation.

He looked at her and told her something he had never confessed to anyone. "I often wondered if what was done to us, to my family had to do with my little boy's death."

"Castle what does that have to do…"

"That fake death they implanted on me," he continued as if she hadn't interrupted him. "Of course, now I know I was right but back then I wondered about him and Alexis's mother. Where was she? Who was she? What if someone had killed them and then wiped our memories to cover the crime? Why didn't they kill us? What could have been so horrible to just wipe out the identities of four people? Leave them without anything. We have education, my mother has the manners of someone who always had money, so I knew we came from money and yet we were left with only the clothes on our bodies. A day didn't go by I didn't wonder. No matter how much I said I was okay with not knowing. No matter how much I said that I was just moving forward. That was a big fat lie and not knowing is a horrible feeling. I'm horrified about what I've learned but a horrible truth is better than not knowing. And even so, I know now, but I don't actually _remember_ and I have so many questions. I mean, Sherlock did his best, but everything he found out is what's official. But what about the personal? What about our families? Our friends? They faked my death and Alexis's, well, and her mothers, but didn't anyone miss my Mother and Robin? Didn't they have friends who wondered where they were? So many things that I may just have to accept to never know."

"I know," she whispered finally understanding what he was saying. "I was saying the same lie."

"I know Kate. I knew back then. I didn't open your mother's case out of morbid curiosity. For character background. I just didn't want you to have to live with that same feeling, that same hole in your heart I had, I still have. I know but I still don't remember, and that hurts so much," he said grabbing at his chest. "I had done everything I could to try to find out. I looked. I paid so many private investigators to look, to look for our past. For a story of a boy dying in a fire. For Alexis's mother and nothing. And before Fallon and Sorenson showed up I had accepted- no the word is, I was _resigned_ to the fact that I probably would never find out. And that is an even worse feeling. And I lo- I care about you Kate, so much. And that is a feeling I don't want you having so I thought, I hadn't been able to solve my case, but maybe, maybe I could help you get closure. But not at the cost of your life Kate, _never_ at the cost of your life. And as a parent I guarantee you, your mother would rather go without justice than have you die trying to get justice for her Kate. I wish so much I could give you that closure, justice. But I can't and they will kill you if you don't stop so I am begging you Kate. Stop, please stop. You don't have to stop forever but you have to be smart, and right now, right now if you even peek at her case you're dead."

She looked at him for what felt like hours. He was freely crying. He hadn't repeated he loved her and she was glad. He almost did but she wasn't ready to deal with that yet, to deal with the intensity of his love or the love she knew she felt for him. But even though he wasn't saying the words all the other words let his feelings clear, his face, his eyes and the raw pain in them.

She knew he was bullshitting her every time she asked about his memories and he just shrugged and smirked and answered _"I get to be whoever I want,"_ but she let him because she had been bullshitting everyone when she said she had closed her mother's case for good.

And she was a hypocrite, she knew, when she got so angry at him for snooping into her mother's case when she had gone and done the same. Pulled the case of the John Doe and three Jane Does found at Lennox Hill without a single memory of who they were. She too had tried to see if people matching their description had disappeared from somewhere else in the US at the time. Something she knew had been done. But just like he thought a new set of eyes could see something new in her mother's case she thought a new set of eyes could help him, for the same reason he did. He was an annoying prat at the time, but she didn't want him going around with the hole she had in her heart.

They'd both done the exact same thing, the only difference being he got somewhere and she didn't. Granted, she was looking in the wrong place, but still. She always marveled that despite his dark past, despite walking around with the pain of losing a child, he was able to continue to look at life with joy and wonder. How did he do that? Her eyes caught Heat Rises on her coffee table and she realized that maybe that was how. He channeled all his grief, all his anger at the world into his books so he could live. She wished she could do that, she was trying to do that. Not let that anger be all-consuming. Take over her entire life. She finally nodded.

"We hit a wall anyway, and this case, this case seems to only render evidence when we're not looking."

"Kate-"

"I can't completely give it up Rick. I can't, I know you understand that, but we can be smart."

"We can be smart," he repeated.

"For now," she insisted.

He nodded and sighed in relief. She needed to change the subject, desperately. She was about to ask him if he wanted to order a pizza for lunch when he grabbed his head and doubled over.

"Rick," she cried running towards him. "What's wrong?" she asked as she tried to soften the blow as he fell to his knees.

"My head, feels like it's going to explode," he gritted out before he passed out forward and it was all she could do to stop him from falling face first on the floor. She grunted. He was a big guy and she still hadn't regained her full strength. She called 911 as she ran a hand through his hair. Her heart beating wildly in her chest.

What was going on? He couldn't leave her. His pulse was strong and his breathing was normal but she could see his eyes moving wildly bellow his eyelids. As she explained all this to the 911 operator she was startled by his phone ringing. She knew the ringtone. It was Harry's. Rick had a personalized ringtone for each person of his inner circle and he always made sure she knew Alexis's just in case. He wasn't any different with Harry after getting the boy a phone. She asked the operator to stay on the line, that she had to answer his phone, and started patting him for the phone.

"This is not how I wanted to feel you up Castle," she grumbled as she finally found the phone and found Harry's smiling face. A picture that he had taken while her dad had been explaining all about baseball to the boy. Her dad who had been ecstatic at a pseudo grandson he could take to ball games.

"Harry, honey, what's up?" she asked casually. She did not want to panic the boy.

"They just fainted!" he cried anguished and Kate was alert.

"Who just fainted?"

"Grams and Alexis, I don't know what to do?"

At that moment Kate had an epiphany. They had all fainted at the same time and she bet that wherever Robin was she had fainted too.

"Harry, just a second. I'm going to explain this to 911."

She grabbed her phone and began speaking to the operator, "I think I know what's going on. He has a memory block and I think it just broke."

"How do you know?" the operator asked.

"His mother and daughter have the same block and have just fainted too. So unless this is an extremely well timed virus or poison that is our best bet. Can you send an ambulance to them too? His son is with them. He is a minor…I'll call the doorman, ask him to stay with Harry. Can you make sure they all go to the same hospital?"

"Mam, procedure is to go to the nearest hospital-"

"I don't think they are in danger and they will be better off if they are all together when they wake up," she explained. "I'll take any responsibility. I'm Detective Kate Beckett badge number 41319."

"Fine, I'll see if the paramedics agree."

"Make sure they bring Harry with them."

"If he is a minor-"

"I have guardianship if Rick is incapacitated," she stated. She didn't know if she did. Castle had asked her if she'd take Alexis if anything happened to him and had her sign all kinds of paperwork. She didn't think he had had time to do the same for Harry. She didn't know how the legal guardianship of Harry was going after all. James Potter had guardianship, but there must be all kinds of red tape to recognize Richard Castle as James Potter. But there was no way she'd let Harry with a stranger.

"Okay."

She grabbed the other phone, "Harry sweetie, help is on the way. I want you to go to the intercom and ask Eduardo to come up and help you. When the paramedics come, they are going to take you to the hospital with them and I'll meet you there."

"But where's dad?" he asked and she shook her head. Castle had been waiting two weeks to hear Harry call him dad and the first time he does Rick is unconscious and Harry is terrified.

"He fainted too honey. But I think they are okay. I think the memory block broke. They must be remembering and that's why they fainted. Can you do as I asked?"

"Kay."

"I'll stay on the phone with you the whole time," she promised.

Xx

Two hours later, she was hissing on the phone while keeping an eye on her dad and Harry seated on a cafeteria table. She was right. Robin had fainted too. Thankfully, she had been with her friends. Less thankfully, she was taken to a different hospital and everyone who could sign her transfer was currently unconscious.

"You were right Detective, the block was broken," the doctor had said after examining the three Castles.

"How long will they remain that way?"

"With this kind of memory block, usually an hour for each year that was blocked," she nodded. Alexis would be the first to wake and then Robin then. "They'll also take some time to completely process their memories. So don't worry if at times they seem to space out. Otherwise they are all very healthy."

"Thanks," she had nodded and after a quick call to Ted she confirmed that the same was said for Robin. She had decided that once Alexis was up, they'd go to Robin. The twelve year gap between her and Rick would allow them to go home and rest a bit before he woke up.

"Hear that, they'll be just fine," she told Harry who had looked extremely frightened he was losing the family he had just found. "Why don't we go get some food?" he had seemed reluctant but had nodded. They were in for a long wait. At least nine hours before Alexis woke so they'd better fuel up.

That was where her father had found her and where he and Harry still were as she excused herself to make a phone call. She had been surprised when Harry had talked about Will, the FBI agent who helped him and had found out through a disgruntled Castle that Harry's new hero was none other than her ex-boyfriend.

So she decided to call him and was not happy with the answer.

"You could have given them a heads up!" she hissed.

"This was need to know Kate! I was only notified they had moved once the operation was successful. The CIA and MI-6 have been working together on this and they are skirting a few treaties between the British Non-magical and magical governments quite close. They didn't want some Death Eater getting wind of the operation and alerting Voldemort."

"So, he's really dead now?"

"Yes, he was considered a danger to World Peace and both governments agreed apprehension was not an option. Once all the pieces of his soul were found, one at Hogwarts, if you can believe me, and one inhabiting a forest animal in Albania, they were all disposed of. The fact that the memory block was broken is further proof that he is really dead."

"What do you mean further proof?"

"Wizarding Britain has been in chaos since we arrested Dumbledore and Potter. A spy for Dumbledore came forward once he realized the non-magicals had arrested Dumbledore and that the British Wizards were running around trying to save their asses. The Wizengamot has already voted they will not prosecute and to add insult to injury that the case is not be made public. I'm sure that the fact that Augusta Longbottom assumed the family seat after her husband passed a few years back helped that fact immensely. The only reason she is getting scot-free is because she wasn't a member of the Wizengamot eight years ago. So no one outside the Wizengamot can know exactly what they discussed and what charges were levied. This guy was a spy for Dumbledore and was working at the school. He named names of other Death Eaters and showed his faded Dark Mark. The Dark Mark has completely disappeared now."

"So are they going to arrest these Death Eaters?"

"Doubtful. The Wizengamot isn't going to act, they've already cleared them once, and we can't act unless they become a threat. These are the Death Eaters who have learned to lay low after Voldemort's disappearance. Some of them _are in_ the Wizengamot. So, unless laws change and the two governments start working together, they'll walk. Much like the people who helped Dumbledore and Potter. We're prosecuting though and the case is pretty much won thanks to Potter's confession. He plead guilty by the way. I guess he knew he couldn't win and is trying to get the least time possible. He asked to talk to Castle, but that can wait. Dumbledore on the other hand is still holding fast that what he did was for the greater good and should be forgiven. So there's a chance there will be a messy trial. Especially after the new developments."

"Great," Kate hissed sarcastically. "Thanks for the info."

"No problem. Say hi to mini Castle," he finished in a light tone as she looked towards the boy in question.

Xxx

"They were my friends Kate. I trusted them," Rick seemed to fold into himself as he brought the covers of the hospital bed up. As if they could protect him from the betrayal of the people he once considered family. "They all sold me out. Just to different masters."

As the doctors had predicted, Alexis had been the first to wake. She couldn't get the girl to talk but she didn't need her to to know what the problem was. Sorenson and Fallon had explained, she'd been in the house when Voldemort attacked, and then, one of the last memories she would have recovered would have been of her own grandfather attacking and imprisoning them.

Since she had woken up, she had refused to let Harry go. Kate had been glad she had managed to convince the doctors to put all three of them in the same room because going to the bathroom would have been pretty awkward for both youngsters. As was, Alexis made Harry keep talking when one was in there. Her plan of going to Robin was thwarted by the fact that at first Harry refused to leave their father's side and then Alexis too. Even when Kate pointed out that Castle still had 22 hours to go before he woke up. So they took turns laying on the empty bed or the couch, sleeping fitfully and Kate called Ted once again who guaranteed she didn't have to worry. Robin's crazy friends, as Rick called them, were taking care of her.

They might be crazy but they were good friends. As were theirs. Her dad had to leave before Alexis woke up but all their friends had rotated coming and going, checking on them. The Burkes had offered to take the kids home with them. Neal had been asking to see Harry again after a few meetings they had during the last two weeks. He had even introduced Harry to his best friend since pre-school, Mozzie, one day when the Burkes had all of them over for pizza. And when the here boys had been huddled together whispering while she and Castle were eating pizza and having some beers with both sets of parents, Peter had shuddered and Cameron, one of Mozzie's adopted father, had rolled his eyes claiming that he was exaggerating. Mitchel, his other father, had then stated that they didn't need to worry, between him, Kate's dad and Robin's friend Marshall the boys were covered in the legal department and all of them had laughed as Peter glared at them.

But Alexis and Harry refused the offer. Almost twenty hours after they first fainted, Robin showed up with a harried Ted and Barney in tow.

"She signed herself off," Barney explained and she nodded as Robin wordlessly sat on the couch with her niece and nephew holding them close.

"I know, sh, we're okay now and they can't hurt us," she heard her whisper into Alexis's hair.

On a more quiet moment, she said not looking anywhere, huddled on one side of the couch, hugging her knees, "I had just graduated Hogwarts. I was nineteen and a half. That very same day I was fighting with my dad because I was still trying to get my A-levels to get into University. I wanted to follow Jam- Rick's footsteps. Go to Oxford," she said proudly. "He wanted me to stop with that nonsense, get a proper Ministry job and marry into a proper pure blooded family. He never forgave his heir for marrying a Muggle-born. Sorry, first generation," she rubbed at her eyes. "Everything is so confused in my head."

"That's okay," Kate said gently. Muggle-born was a British term. Most countries had long ago started calling them first generations with the understanding that a small act like not calling them by a name that denoted difference would unconsciously help change people's perception even in a small way.

"Richard and Robin were the names she wanted to give us," Robin continued as she observed her sleeping mother.

"Yes, I know," she nodded.

"No," Robin shook her head. "They were the names she wanted to give us when we were born," she clarified. "She liked the symmetry. Everything starting with the same initial. And she liked the names, she told me once, but James and Sarah were family names and…there was just something weird with their marriage. More like a business arrangement than a marriage. And that's all he cared about. He was never a warm father. We were his heirs and we had a duty, a job towards the family name. That's all. His brother Jackson was much warmer, and I only remember seeing him a few times. Father hated him, said he besmirched the Potter name. I don't know why but I remember Uncle Jackson saying that since he was the spare he could do whatever he wanted. I was little and found that funny. I hadn't understood what being the spare meant at the time."

Then Robin glanced at Alexis and Harry on the extra bed where Alexis had been placed at first and smiled, "Alexis was his first choice too. But Lily refused. Said that was too egotistical even for him."

"Because of Alexander?" It made sense. After all, their memories had been bound but not their personalities. If they liked the names before, it made sense they would choose the names again. She had even thought that before and had added their first names as parameters on the searches she had ran.

"Yeah," Robin smiled. "The funny part is that wasn't why he wanted Alexis then, he liked the name, but when we woke up at Lenox Hill and mother chose Richard Alexander he offered Alexis for exactly that reason. So she'd feel connected."

"That's just like him, and Harry. Was that his first choice?"

"No," she snorted. "He wanted Cosmo, but Alexis, who was eight at the time, but was already more mature than him, said no brother of hers would be named Cosmo."

"Good call," Kate grinned and tried to think of something fast when she saw Robin's smile falter but she wasn't fast enough.

"She's not going to come back."

"Who?"

"Lily, wherever she is. Whoever she is. Even when she remembers."

"She lives in DC. Castle got her information from Fallon. He was waiting until he could go personally to talk to her, explain everything."

"Won't make a difference."

"Robin-"

She lowered her voice and said, "She didn't want children. They got married because she got pregnant and in Wizarding Britain abortion is illegal. She always blamed Rick. They both are the result of the .1%, you know?"

".1%?" she asked perplexed.

"Of efficacy of birth control. Only 99.9%. Rick has always wanted children. And that was one of the reasons they didn't get married before. They wanted different things but things were getting ugly. A war was raging and in times like that if you have someone you care about, even if they aren't the love of your life… If the war hadn't started practically when they left Hogwarts they probably wouldn't have been together anymore. And then she got pregnant and they got married. And Alexis was born and Lily – she's not a bad person, and I know she cared for her daughter, but she just wasn't a mother. She was a houseguest who had sex with Rick and played with Alexis every now and then. And then, nine years later, bam .1% again and she raged at him. Said his magic was doing this because of his desire to be a father. She stayed only during the pregnancy but she had already served him with divorce papers and he came back to the house alone with both children from the Hospital. Harry never really knew his mom. She never looked back.

"They crossed paths at the Ministry every now and then but she barely acknowledged him and never asked about the kids. She had Healer's training and a psychiatry degree. She worked part time in St. Mungo's and at a Hospital in Muggle London. She had been working on projects to further Mind Healing and forensics, profiling, in the Wizarding world so she often had to go to the Ministry to apply for permissions to start new protocols. Didn't get anywhere much. No one wanted change and the fact that she was Muggle-born and worked in the muggle world didn't endear her to anyone. They expected Muggle-borns to cut all ties. Rick worked at the Ministry, in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office. He spent almost ten years, since he graduated Oxford, trying to convince the Ministry that we needed to adapt, to adopt the same system the rest of the world did. Incorporate non-magical curriculum so we could work in the non-magical world too. Increase the importance of the Muggle Relations Office. But no-one ever listened and father and Aunt Augusta raged at him about how he was ruining the Potter and Black good names. How he needed to stop daydreaming.

"He wrote even then but he never had the courage to send anything for publishing because fiction for adults isn't well seen in the British Wizarding World. Only for children's stories. They called it silly story-telling. So he wrote for us, me, Alexis, mother. Adventures of princes and pirates. He had a job that he felt passionate about because he wanted to change our world. He thought we could change without all the fight that was going around. The violence. But that's more because I've always thought he's incapable of doing anything without passion, enthusiasm, because even then I knew that he was a writer at heart."

Kate smiled at that because she was right. Even when he proclaimed something was boring he still did the job passionately. She learned her lesson after the one time she made him write a report. And granted, she was very entertained while reading the report, but she knew IA wouldn't be amused so she never filed it. It was secreted away on her very secret Castle box, where she stored away knickknacks he had given her here and there. So what if there was the paper wrapping of an awful Russian lollipop.

"When he got divorced!" Robin shook her head, "I thought father was going to kill him. Not the point, the point is, she didn't want them then, she's not going to want them now."

"You don't know that," she tried weakly but something inside of her that always tightened her chest at the mention of Lily Potter got loose. She had intellectually known they were divorced but she had been scared at their reunion. What if old feelings were rekindled? They had been married for almost nine years. Known each other for twenty and the knowledge that they hadn't married out of undying love, that their marriage had been on the rocks long before they got divorced, weakened this foe she had yet to meet. She had googled her. The woman was gorgeous, successful, intelligent. She was a forensic psychiatrist. She worked detecting lies from micro-expressions and she could just imagine Castle drooling at the idea of a human lie detector. She had been threatened. But she had felt a bit better now.

Then Rick woke up, bolted up right and stumbled out of bed and into the one with his children on autopilot, startled them both awake as he hugged them tight to him.

"Daddy?" Alexis had asked and Rick had just nodded.

"I'm so sorry, so sorry I couldn't protect you," he whispered. That had been about an hour ago and Robin had finally convinced the two kids to go home. The doctors still wanted Rick to stay a few hours. To get his bearings, as Robin should have. That she was the one to convince him to stay was not lost on Kate. Pot kettle black much? But she had with a simple phrase.

"I only got here because Ted and Barney brought me. Kate can tell you, there were times I looked like a zombie because I was inside my head. Do you want the kids seeing you that way?"

So he had reassured both children he'd be home soon and that he just wanted them to go rest. And once they left he had shuffled back to bed and hid under the blankets and she had barely recognized him. Her larger than life, always on, loud partner was quiet and making himself as small as he could.

After that day in the hangar, after she had thrown him out saying they were over, ignored his calls and yet he still came to save her - because she knew Montgomery had been right to call him and she knew Castle had been right to follow his orders. They'd all be dead if he hadn't. But at the time she was upset – Castle never asked anything, he never brought the subject back up, he was just there for her. While CSU arrived. While they gave the story they had all agreed upon. While they rode to the cemetery. He had just been there, by her side. Holding her hand silently and for some reason she hadn't complained. Hadn't pulled her hand away despite having a boyfriend at the time. So now, she did the same. She let him lay quiet after his statement about his friends and held his hand that was peeking from under the blankets and quietly repeated what she had already promised him once.

"I'll never sell you out."

Xx

A/N:

Before you guys ask, yes there is a reason why Castle wasn't able to use magic in the hangar, the freezer and other instances. When thinking up this story I came up with why he wouldn't be able to if most people he interacted with knew about magic (after all, they're law enforcement). I wanted for them to still have their adventures without them being easily solvable with a spell. And I have found places where to explain that reason, they just haven't come up yet. But you will find out.

On a second subject, I had been conflicted when casting Lily to tell you the truth. At times I wavered between Laura, from Mysteries of Laura and Gillian from Lie to Me.

Gillian had been a first choice back when this had started as the crossover between HP and White Collar where Harry ran away after the Triwizard Tournament and become Neal Caffrey. The confrontation between the Forensics Psychiatrist who specializes in detecting liars with a son who became a conman appealed to me because of the interesting interaction possibilities and, while after googling pictures of her, in most of them she has a hair color that leans more towards brownish blond, for a while there in Lie to Me she had a more reddish hair color.

Laura was, well, physically perfect. Debra Messing has red hair and green eyes. Unlike Kelli Renee Williams, you don't have to squint to make that work. Plus, like I said, at the time I was thinking of a story where Harry was an adult, who after finding out his parents were alive (I intended there to be confusion, for him to know they were alive but not know their memories had been tampered with) ran away. And they only meet in his mid-twenties. So, both parents having other marriages and other children that happened during this memoryless time brought possibilities for conflict. Especially with a mother who had initially not wanted children in her youth but then changed her mind when she was much older. But here I didn't think Lily being a mother so soon after Harry would have been born would work with my reasons for Rick having full custody. And I wanted him to have full custody, because, well, he's Castle. Being the ultimate father is part of his character.

So I chose Gillian Foster from Lie to Me for Lily. Since she isn't going to be a big part of this I decided to just maintain my initial choice. Once again, you need to know even less of that show to be able to continue with the story. Actually, I think you don't really need to know anything of Lie to Me to understand her part on the story. But if you are interested, the first two seasons are really good! The third you can do without.

I hoped this helped you guys.


	5. What else have you done Dumbledore?

**Chapter 5 – What else have you done Dumbledore?**

 _"If anything happens, you take them both and disappear. Don't look back and not for anything Sirius, not for anything do you let Dumbledore get his hands on either of them. Promise me."_

 _"I promise."_

"You okay?" a voice broke him out of his daydreams, his memories. Was he okay? His head was still spinning. Thirty-two years worth of memories jumbling around in his brain. Of promises broken. That day, less than two weeks ago when Fallon and Sorenson first showed up, seemed so far away. So much had happened. His life was so different. God he wished Kate was here. He needed her by his side, so badly. He needed her presence to tell him he wasn't such a bad judge of character. That all his friends wouldn't turn on him. That she wouldn't. But he had seen how exhausted she was. She had been in the hospital waiting for him to wake up for thirty-two hours. He couldn't ask her to stay longer. She would be back to work in a few days and she couldn't afford to go to work completely worn out on the first day. So he'd put on a brave face and told her to go rest. That he'd be okay. Wait for his mother to wake up. She was reluctant but she went.

He knew why she'd run off to the cabin even if he was hurt by her silence .That was just Kate being Kate. Licking her wounds alone. Regrouping after her world was turned upside down. Not letting anyone near to see her weak. A mess. But right now he was a mess and he thought they'd be better off being messes together than separate messes. He was glad she had seemed to change her mind and be on the same page as him. He hoped they could help each other from now on.

He had already called Bob. He was going to wait for Kate to present herself to Captain Gates first, so the woman wouldn't take any anger out on Kate. He knew Gates probably didn't like him. He agreed that maybe he should have just left when she ordered him to before correcting her use of the word dilettante. That probably didn't help his case. But really! You can call him a dilettante cop, but not a dilettante writer. He had 27 published novels! But as soon as Rick gave him the green light Bob would explain to the woman the benefits of having Richard Castle at the precinct for the image of the NYPD. Rick wasn't stupid, he knew Bob liked him and had helped him out the first time, but his continued agreement with Rick's consulting with the NYPD came from the outrageous amount of good press Nikki Heat brought. Bob had already called him when Gates first kicked him out saying he'd call her, because he wanted that good press, but Rick had asked him to wait until Kate was back. He had worried she blamed him for getting shot, because he sure as hell blamed himself, and he didn't want to force her to stand his presence if she didn't want to. But she had been the one to bring the subject up when she told him her return date so he called Bob.

"Rick," he heard again and automatically took the cup of coffee that was handed to him. The name felt weird. Not wrong, but weird. He'd been Rick for eight years now, he couldn't just flip a switch. He honestly didn't think he wanted to but that same voice had called him Jaime. Happy and excited as she ran towards him after getting off the Hogwarts Express. No, that wasn't right. The voice was right but the accent was wrong. His accent was wrong. He was so confused.

"Are you?" he asked her.

Robin shrugged, she had come back after making sure Alexis and Harry had eaten and were going to be okay on their own at the loft. "I know he wasn't the warmest of dads, not proper pureblood behavior, but still. How could he do this?"

"I don't know," he said looking at his sister's blue eyes, so much like his and their mother's. Not like their – no that _man_. Because that was what Charlus Potter was, that man. And yes, maybe he'd need some time to get used to being only Rick but he sure as hell didn't want to be a Potter, they were Castles now. All of them, he thought looking at his mother on the bed. All of them. He'd change Harry's name.

"We're Castles," he heard her repeat and realized he had said it out loud.

XX

Almost forty hours previously, at the same time most of the Castle family had dropped as one in a faint, in a closed ward of Saint Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies, the new developments Special Agent Will Sorenson had alluded to but didn't explain were about to unfold.

"I think Katherine Beckett is the name of the Detective Castle bases Nikki Heat off," Severus Snape said as he read the dedication at the end of the book. He liked the dedications. He really liked Richard Castle's Books ever since a package was delivered by mistake some five years ago to his house with a paperback Derrick Storm novel his neighbor had ordered and he accidentally opened without checking the addressee. He saw that James Patterson recommended the book on the blurb and he liked Patterson. So, before he returned the book to his neighbor he read a bit and was hooked, there was just something familiar in the narrative that had him feeling at peace despite the action packed story.

So, he went to the bookstore in his neighborhood he liked and ordered all the Castle books leaving a standing order. The owner had known his mother and never blinked twice at what other muggles would consider weird habits. She knew he liked paperbacks so she always made sure to let him know when the paperbacks were in. He knew they were usually launched months after but he didn't mind the wait for the practicality of being able to just hide the book in the pockets of his robes.

Fiction in the Wizarding World, at least the British one, was frowned upon as a waste of time. If you weren't reading about magical theory you should be doing something else. He snorted. Funny how they didn't think the same of Quidditch. So he always made sure to keep this habit mostly to himself. The only other two people who knew couldn't really tell anyone.

Severus always blamed himself for what happened to the Potters and Longbottoms. If only Voldemort had never known of the prophecy. But James had been right, if he didn't do as Dumbledore ordered him and tell Voldemort, Dumbledore would have found another way and then his position as a spy would have been compromised. But he still felt guilty. He didn't know where Harry was. Dumbledore had told him he was safe in the muggle world with his grandmother and aunt. That contacting them could only lead danger to them. He had figured they had gone through with James's plan of leaving the country. He never understood what Lily had been doing at the house, they had been separated and no amount of arguing had changed Lily's mind before. But he thought she might have gone there for a final goodbye. The worst part was not being able to share the grief.

Funnily enough, at the time of their death, Lily hadn't been his closest friend, James was. After years of animosity in school, James saving him from Lupin turned them into friends. Or more like the fact James felt he had the right to scold Severus turned them into friends.

 _"What the hell were you thinking? You knew there'd be a fully turned werewolf there! Are you that stupid that a dare from Sirius is enough to make you walk into certain danger?"_

Severus had been infuriated. His nemesis, the boy stealing his best and only real friend had not only humiliatingly saved his life, but was lecturing him! They had shouted at each other for what felt like hours and under Severus's perception, they had still been arguing when James grabbed a pen, a muggle pen! He knew Potter was known for walking around with muggle things but Severus tried to distance himself from his father's filthy heritage, and James grabbed his arm and wrote on his arm! His arm!

 _"That's a PO box I keep to be able to get the muggle books so I can take my A-levels. Write to me there during the summer."_

 _"Why?"_

 _"Because if you think so little of your life that you walk into certain death then you need a friend. A real one, not like the Death Eaters wanna bees you hang around."_

 _"But you hate me!"_

 _"First time we met you called me all brawns and no brains and we were eleven Severus, what did you expect? But that was six years ago, time to grow up. We only have one year left of safety. You need real friends out there. Think about it."_

And he had, and they had exchanged letters during the summer, they had even met. James liked going to muggle London for the movies. Severus wasn't a fan, but whatever took him away from his dad was always a plus. He ended up watching the whole Star Wars trilogy much to his chagrin. He couldn't understand how James could actually be re-watching them.

James had confessed he had overheard Lily talking about Severus's father once and that was why he gave him muggle means of communication. So his dad wouldn't be angered by an owl. They had become friends but made sure not to let people at Hogwarts know. James wasn't quiet about his ideas or the fact that he intended to attend a muggle university. In Slytherin, being friends with him would not be well seen and could be dangerous. That had served him well later on when he became a spy. James had not been happy but had understood. Severus had spent his entire Hogwarts career cultivating friendships with people who were now siding with Voldemort. That was too good a chance to pass.

After that Halloween night, he lost his only two real friends and he had never made friends with the other Marauders, especially Lupin, the only one left up until a couple of weeks ago when Black's innocence was announced in the _Daily Prophet_. He couldn't help Harry and he felt he had failed James – which has not been helped lately after Potter and Dumbledore were arrested two weeks before. The _Prophet_ didn't know much but they knew that, unlike what he had thought, Harry hadn't been with his grandmother and aunt. He'd been with Petunia - Petunia! Who wasn't fit to raise a bush much less a child - and had been abused. Apparently, the American government had approached the Wizengamot with charges of kidnapping and memory tampering and had spirited Harry away. He imagined the memory tampering was Dorea and Sarah Potter. He hadn't known them well, but to hear James, they were close. They wouldn't have just let Harry go to the Dursleys. He imagined Potter and Dumbledore had done something to them to make sure they didn't interfere and he had just believed Dumbledore, never questioned him despite James's warnings.

 _"This war isn't about any of us anymore. About muggle rights. This is about two wizards and their egos. Leave like me Severus. You don't owe anyone anything. We've tried, we've been trying since we graduated and nothing has changed."_

He hadn't listened and he had trusted someone his best friend didn't about his best friend's son. He had failed them.

Eight years ago, without being able to help Harry he decided he'd visit the other family affected by the prophecy and he had started coming here during the night, without anyone the wiser, despite not having been close to them. Only knowing them from the Order. Frank and Alice were always awake, staring vacantly ahead. At first, he told them about what was going on, but there was just so much news in a community as small as theirs was. One day, he pulled the book from his pocket and started reading out loud. He'd do that every day during the summer and as much as his duties allowed during the school year. He started saving his favorites to read with them. Castle was one of them and the latest had just come out yesterday. He was surprised when he received the notice that the paperback had been launched together with the hardcover for some reason – he'd learn later on that that was a last minute decision Castle had insisted on. Paperbacks were cheaper, better for libraries, libraries like the one where his son felt safe.

"She must be one hell of a lady," he heard a voice rasp. And looked up shocked to meet the shocked eyes of the owner of the voice. As if he hadn't expected to be able to voice his thoughts, and why would he? In the eight years Severus had been coming here, they had never showed any reaction.

"Frank?" he asked slowly and realized he wasn't the only one. In the bed on Severus's other side Alice was turning around and calling Frank. With an agility a man who hasn't moved around much in eight years shouldn't have – some part of Severus's brain supplied the information that they had been receiving potions and spells to keep their body in perfect shape so they shouldn't be affected by the lack of mobility – Frank launched himself towards the other bed and Severus could just watch mesmerized as husband and wife embraced after years of separation.

"What happened Frank?" he heard Alice ask.

"Dumbledore must be dead," Frank said and Severus's mouth acted of its own accord answering.

"He's not. He's been arrested. How are you – you're moving – you – they said the damage was permanent-"

"What damage Severus?" Frank asked knowingly not letting go of his wife as they both sat facing Severus.

"From the Cruciatus."

"We weren't under long enough for any damage," Alice said simply. "Moody and Dumbledore arrived soon after we sounded the alarm and helped us capture all four of them. At the time we thought we were lucky until Dumbledore started talking after Moody left with the prisoners. Frank had asked Charlus where his aunt and cousins were. We wanted to see Harry. I'm his godmother. Charlus had told us they had already left for safety but we insisted. He'd said he'd see what he could do. What he could do apparently was alert Dumbledore and then Dumbledore came to us to explain how we needed to stop asking. Because Harry was where he belonged. Then he starts with how he thinks we needed to discuss Neville's future. That Harry had been marked as the boy of the prophecy but just in case something happened we needed to make sure Neville was prepared."

"We thought he was mental," Frank continued. "Neville was fifteen months old and he was talking about training, preparing him for sacrifice. I stopped him right there, told him my son wasn't going to be sacrificing himself for a prophecy, next thing we know he's turned his wand on us and petrified us."

"We weren't expecting it," Alice shook her head disgusted. "Experienced Aurors and he gets the drop on us. I don't know what kind of spell he put on us but the next thing we know we can't move unless someone tells us to, like the nurses here," she gestures to the ward around us. "They have to tell us, get up, open your mouth, chew, swallow, and we certainly can't talk."

"Just to each other," Frank nods.

"To each other?" Severus's asks.

"He used some variation of Legilimency to make us able to communicate with each other with our minds. Thinks that makes him some great humanitarian," Alice snapped angrily. "He loves coming here to defend his actions. _For the greater good! I'm not a bad person, if I was I'd had killed you, but sacrifices need to be made and once this is all over you can all continue your lives,_ " she affected her voice clearly imitating Dumbledore.

"You and Neville are pretty much the only ones keeping us sane. Everyone else acts as if we can't understand them. But the both of you actually talk to us as if we could. And those books you read to us. We started eagerly expecting you with the next part of the story," Frank explained.

"I especially like the Nikki Heat ones," Alice said and at Frank's look she added, "What, it's a love story!"

"I'm pretty sure that is not the case," Severus huffed indignantly. He wasn't reading a _love story_! He was reading a mystery thank you very much. "Moving on, why were you released now?"

"Dumbledore always said he tied our spell to Voldemort's life energy. So Voldemort would need to be dead but that is not poss- er – Severus?" Frank asked as Severus shot up and rolled up his sleeve.

"I need to call someone," he mumbled as he stared at his bare arm.

"Severus, what, why?" Frank asked as he and Alice started following Severus out of the ward.

"Where are you two going?"

"Wherever you are, and then home. To Neville. Preferably after you arrange some clothes for us," Alice said simply.

"No, you need to be checked-"

"We are in perfect health," Frank huffed. "They've been checking us every day for the last eight years and I don't want to spend another second here. But we are lacking on wands, and clothes, and money. All things that will get us to our son. So, really we don't have a choice," he shrugged. "Where you go, we go."

"I need to go talk to someone from the Muggle secret service. I contacted them after they arrested Dumbledore. Dumbledore is the one who vouched for me, I didn't want to end up in Azkaban and I wanted to know where they took Harry. They haven't been forthcoming on Harry's whereabouts but they've asked me all sorts of questions including about the Dark Mark and how it's connected to Voldemort. I need to alert them that it's gone!"

"What do you mean Harry's whereabouts?" Alice asked as Frank peaked outside of the ward's door to see if one of the night nurses were about to come.

"That's what I'm talking about! No one knows. The Americans just showed up and arrested Dumbledore and Potter one day and then we're all scrambling to try to find out-"

"Why don't you explain on the way?" Frank said. "Let's not waste any time. But first, can you transfigure these?" he pointed at his and Alice's hospital gowns. "So no one tries to stop us from leaving."

Severus nodded and transfigured the gowns into some pants and shirts. He also transfigured their slippers into shoes. They wouldn't last long but he was sure they would hold for the time they needed and they were muggle enough that they wouldn't call much attention while in muggle London.

* * *

A/N – Didn't see that coming did ya?

What Snape did for the Castle books, ordering them all because he liked one is something I did with Philip Pullman after reading his Dark Materials. I hadn't known him before that. Except, I went to Amazon. And the paperbacks is so they don't have the author's picture! See, so Snape never saw Rick's face. I thought that that would emphasize the total isolation of the British Wizarding World even more. Richard Castle is a worldwide renowned writer yet all those people who knew him never once realized he was alive.

And you saw a bit of what's been going on in the motherland.


	6. Your real roots

**Chapter 6 - Your real roots  
**

"Charlus is not your father," Martha said simply to Rick and Robin about a week after they had all had their memories returned and Kate's jaw fell. Martha had been especially and uncharacteristically quiet since and today she had asked all three of them to talk while Alexis had taken Harry out for some sibling bonding time. Rick was seated between Kate and Robin on the couch and Martha had taken one of the armchairs facing them. "Ours was an arranged marriage. I was in love with Jackson, his younger brother. But Jackson wasn't the heir and he was rogue. He, much like you Richard, thought we should merge with the Non-magical world and that is what he did. No, don't ask. I never knew exactly what he did," she forestalled with her hands raised.

"I just know he is some kind of law enforcement in the non-magical world. He would disappear for years at a time. But every time he came, we hooked up. Discreetly," she said with a straight face only Martha Rogers can pull that had both her children and Kate looking astounded. "Soon after we got married Charlus was hit by a stray spell on a raid during work. One of the consequences was he became infertile. He was the Potter heir and he had not yet produced an heir of his own. He couldn't let people know. The British Wizarding World is a bundle of contradictions. On one hand, women, as long as they are pureblood, will have no more trouble rising to power than a man. They've had female Ministers for Magic long before any other country had a female leader, but on the other hand, because of the stock they put on blood, lacking heirs can damage a man's political career and have arranged marriages. If a woman were to refuse her arranged marriage – well, let's just say, her life would not be easy. Andromeda Tonks can verify that. They just make no sense!" she exclaimed exasperated and Kate felt a little self-conscious participating of such a private moment. She had no idea why Martha had included her, but she was glad she was here as Rick grabbed her hand as if he needed the help to anchor himself. She was glad to be able to do this for him, after all the times he did the same for her. She squeezed back.

"Charlus couldn't afford people finding out he was infertile. He would lose political power. Furthermore, our marriage contract would allow my father to void our marriage and marry me off to someone else, and the alliance of the families, especially with Augusta married to Alfred Longbottom, was too politically beneficial for him to give up. So he offered me a deal. As long as we were discrete, and as long as he provided me with someone of Potter blood that Charlus could call an heir, he would not be opposed to Jackson and I maintaining an affair. He needed his heir to have Potter blood because of the family magic, and if he didn't produce an heir, Jackson's firstborn would have become the heir automatically anyway. So he knew that as long as Jackson was the biological father, the family magic would accept his heir apparent. Charlus and I became just a façade. As you well know, we didn't even sleep in the same room. I'm sure he had mistresses. I never bothered finding out," she shrugged. "I couldn't keep Jackson tethered though, for all effects and purposes I was married. So the two of us had a different deal. Whenever he showed up, if he was single, which he had always been, or at least told me he was, we hooked up. But otherwise he was free to pursue other love interests. You are both his. I'm sure he suspected. I never really out right told him, or of how his brother and I never really had sex after his accident, but I think he suspected. He sure paid you both a lot of attention when he showed up. He really loved you both."

"He gave me Casino Royale," Rick whispered marveling at the symmetry. His father had given him the same book he gave his son. He didn't know how to feel. On the one hand he was angry at his mother for lying to him but on the other hand, she hadn't known she'd been lying to them for the last eight years. And their situation back in England had been so different. Yes, Martha had rebelled a bit back then sending them to non-magical schools and learning about non-magical things, but at the same time she also knew how to behave like the proper pureblood. The Martha Rodgers they'd known over the last eight years was what Dorea Potter wished she could have been without the restraints of the society she lived in. Once she forgot those restraints, she let go. Dorea Potter, proper pureblood wife and daughter of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black might have been her first role. So who was he angry at? Because to Dorea Potter that lie was justifiable to keep up appearances, but Martha Rodgers told them the truth of her own free will as soon as she managed to get things straight in her head.

Martha smiled at him at the memory of Jackson giving him a book that had inspired him so much, "The fact that Charlus couldn't afford to let anyone know gave me some power too. Why do you think he allowed me to send you two to non-magical schools before Hogwarts? For myself to learn all those non-magical things I knew. Go to the theater."

"You loved the theater," Robin remembered. "You took us there every time you could."

"I gave him the heir he wanted and a spare. In a community that had trouble conceiving the one because of all the inbreeding. That elevated his status. He had a lot to lose, so he allowed me a lot of latitude. I think he thought once you two reached Hogwarts age you'd grow out of this phase."

"Wasn't he surprised then," Richard snorted remembering the several fights he had with his father – no uncle- because he wanted to continue his non-magical studies. Because Richard loved literature, and the movies, and the theater. The first time Charlus came to his house in Godric's Hollow and realized the house had non-magical appliances, electricity and saw Richard in a computer surfing the web, the vein in his forehead was throbbing so much he was worried they'd be cleaning brain matter for a month. When he announced Alexis was following his tradition and enrolled her in kindergarten, he was sure the neighbors had to have heard the fight even though Potter Manor was in a vast expand of land. He was sure even the Chinese had to have heard Charlus.

"I am not justifying what he did. There is no excuse for what Charlus did and I hope he stays in jail for a long time. But the fact is, that for Charlus, the two of you were means to an end."

"I always thought that he was aloof because that was what pureblood behavior dictated," Robin said sadly. "That was so common among my pureblooded friends. The father to be distant."

"I know kiddo, and I know how that hurt you two. I always marveled at how you could be such a loving father with the example you had Richard."

"I had a great example," he said leaning forward and squeezing Martha's hand.

"Thank you," she said choked and then continued. "I think that is why he had no trouble doing what he did. This was just something else that was politically beneficial. He made people forget about your divorce. His grandson was the Boy Who Lived and if he fulfilled the prophecy, his grandson would have been the Boy Who Sacrificed himself for the Greater Good of the Wizarding World. Charlus would be just as respected as Dumbledore was."

"And considering how the British Wizards are reacting to their imprisonment, not even caring what he did to Harry or to the Longbottoms, I think they could do with less heroes," Kate huffed and Richard nodded grimly. The story about Frank and Alice had been on the papers the morning after he got his memory back though Sherlock, who was keeping an eye on everything, had already Skyped them with the news by the time they read the article, and he had been horrified at the lengths Dumbledore had gone to get what he wanted and how the British Wizarding community wasn't railing against him. Seriously! Just because what? The guy stopped one bad guy a zillion years ago he was entitled to do anything? What kind of mob mentality was this?

He had always been wary of this hero-worshiping of Dumbledore. He had been a part of the Order of the Phoenix in the beginning. Willing to fight to protect the muggle-born rights. To stop Voldemort. But the way the Order worked, as a vigilante group that blindly followed Dumbledore's orders without ever questioning them just didn't sit right with him. When Alexis was born, he had the perfect excuse to leave. As a parent, he couldn't take the risks the Order needed from him, but in reality, he had been ready to leave a long time before.

He was worried about Frank and Alice though. Frank was his older cousin. Had always been good to him despite any problems he might have had with Augusta. And Alice had been good friends with Lily and was his children's godmother. But he also had no intention of setting foot in England. Sherlock, with his older brother's Mycroft's help, was dealing with the legalities of the Potter estate now that Charlus had been arrested and the Head of House position had automatically been passed to Rick. Rick might have issues on how Mycroft dealt with Sherlock but he had to concede that Mycroft was very efficient and ruthless, and being non-magical didn't deter him at all when dealing with Gringotts. Not to mention the fact that as the British Government, as Sherlock liked to call him, Mycroft was taking full advantage of this opportunity into the economy of the British Wizarding World.

But this morning, after he read more news on how the British Wizarding World's population and paper, _The Daily Prophet_ , were crying injustice and demanding Dumbledore's return, he made another phone call to Sherlock. He knew he could trust him with this errand.

Xx

"Mr. Longbottom, my name is Sherlock Holmes, I am a consultant with the New Scotland Yard and was sent to ascertain that everything is in order with you, your wife and child."

"Excuse me? You are – what, who now?"

Sherlock smiled dangerously, he took one look at Frank Longbottom and already decided he was worth his attention. The man seemed harmless to a passing observer with his smaller stature, unassuming brown hair, and his confusion was genuine, but Sherlock had also quickly spotted the man's hand surreptitiously posed close to his pocket, where he imagined he kept his wand. Yes, apparently, Richard's cousin would be very interesting indeed, and the quick glance he took at the man's wife behind him, all sweet round face framed by blond hair and strategically placed close to the living room's entrance, where he imagined she could quickly get to their son, just enhanced Sherlock's giddiness. He wondered what their plans for life were now that they actually had one back.

Xx

"Hi dad!" he heard and smiled brilliantly. Ever since that day a little over two weeks ago when they got their memories back Harry had been calling him dad and his heart soared every time.

"Hey Pint," he called him by the nickname the boys had been calling him. They were now Castle, Little Castle and Pint-sized Castle. Most of them took to calling Harry Pint. "How did the first day of school go?" he asked Harry as he took his hand and they walked towards the subway. This school was farther than he would have liked but Neal and Mozzie went here and Harry had already made friends with them. He thought that would help in the adaptation. And he knew that the Burkes and the Tucker-Pritchetts intended to send Neal and Mozzie to Franklin Middle School and Marlowe Prep High School, both schools Alexis had attended, so he figured two years of a longer commute would pay off in the long run. Plus, the fact that people he trusted could pick up Harry when picking up their kids in case he got stuck on a case was a bonus.

He hadn't understood if Gates had been annoyed or if she had approved when he said he had to leave to pick up Harry from school. She was really hard to read. She looked annoyed but at the same time she had said she was pleased Harry was being well treated.

Harry's school had started two weeks later than normal because of some plumbing problem they had, and since Alexis had already started school and he and Kate had gone back to the precinct two weeks ago, Harry had spent the day with Mozzie and Neal since El could work from home, which she usually did during the summers. He had been worried Harry wouldn't be comfortable but El assured him that was for the best. This way Harry would be more comfortable with his new friends when school started. He hated to admit she was right. Every evening when he went to pick him up Harry was brimming with stories of adventures with his new friends. He was happier and more open than a month ago when he had first arrived. He had even begun to partake in the family tradition of smartass comebacks.

"No one punched me!" Harry said happily and Rick tried very hard not to grimace because he knew Harry was genuinely happy about the fact and wasn't trying to be sarcastic.

"That's always a plus. Did you make new friends?"

"I have Neal and Mozzie," he nodded.

"Yeah, but remember how we talked, about talking to other kids, not just the ones you meet through me. Did you do that?"

Harry looked at him pouting and then said simply, "At this time I'd like to invoke my first amendment right."

"Free speech?"

"Second then."

"The right to bear arms?"

Harry frowned and put his free hand on his hip and asked, "Which one is the one about not incriminating yourself?"

"Fifth."

"That one!" he said happily pointing at Rick.

"So you guys just hung around together and didn't even try talking to anyone else?"

"Where's my lawyer?"

"Okay, but this is not over. I know that back in England making friends was hard because of Dudley but you need to try here, kay?"

"Okay," Harry pouted. "Let's just _head_ home. No need to _lose our heads_ over this," he grinned cheekily up at Rick who gaped.

"Wait, how did you know?"

"Kate called me during the lunch break. She wanted to know how I was doing and she told me what was going on with your case. Dad, how does one lose a head?"

"We didn't lose the head. The cryogenics lab lost the head! Kate shouldn't be telling you about cases!" but deep down he was doing summersaults. Kate had called Harry. She had worried about Harry and made sure he was doing okay!

"I'm gonna have to tell Alexis. That will cheer her up!"

"I'm not sure. She was really counting on this whole joining Ashley in Stanford in January thing."

"What if we call them?"

"I don't think they'd hear us out," Rick laughed. "But maybe we can get some cheer up ice-cream."

"We can get her favorite!"

"Sure can kiddo, sure can," he smiled at Harry.

Xx

"Hey, where are you?" she asked over the phone. She had very gladly taken the interruption. She'd been writing reports. Gates was stricter than Montgomery and had sent back her report the first time around saying she wanted more details. That a detailed report didn't leave IA wondering.

She didn't exactly know what to think of Gates. Yes, she was strict, but she also came highly recommended. She hadn't liked one bit that Castle had gone over her head to his big fan the mayor to get back to the precinct and didn't miss a chance to give him a dig but Kate also saw she didn't immediately dismiss his theories. Nevertheless, Castle was trying to lay low. Where he usually would have come in even if there wasn't a case, just to hang out, he instead waited for the body call. The fact that that gave him time to be with Harry was an added bonus. But Harry had started school a few weeks back so he also wasn't needed during school hours.

Today, he had taken advantage that they had just finished a case - and she was glad to see Serena Kaye gone, to hopefully never come back - and that Harry had very reluctantly agreed to a sleepover at the Burkes to fly to DC.

He wanted to talk to his ex-wife in person. She hadn't given any indication of having recovered her memories and Castle had been careful to not mention her name when he finally had to cave and give an interview about the whole mess. Gina and Paula had done their best to hold the media at bay but he was just too prominent. People had noticed him out and about with his son and once he came out with the non-magical version there was no way the magicals wouldn't connect the dots. So he gave a single interview, which was carefully edited for the non-magical press, telling the story of how they had been targeted so Harry could be kidnapped. The non-magical world believed there were drugs and medical procedures involved and that though they now knew the truth they still didn't remember anything. There was no way to explain them recovering their memories. The drugs existed, the story was plausible, but not the recollection of the memories.

But the magical world got the full story. Castle had not been shy in saying exactly what he thought of Dumbledore, Potter and the Wizengamot for supporting Dumbledore and the others.

That interview was rebroadcasted and reprinted by several international newspapers. But he made sure to always mention her as his ex-wife, or his children's mother. Never by name. And he had requested people respect her right to privacy.

But they needed to talk. She was the mother of his children. She had rights. Harry had been asking about her, even though Alexis hadn't. But Alexis had been eight when they divorced. And she had just been given a refresher of memories from her childhood which meant she probably remembered their mother walking out on them. She knew Castle had tried to convince her to talk to the therapist too, but Alexis hadn't wanted to. And she couldn't really blame her. To be honest, Castle had had to physically drag her away from that fireman and yell at her for her to see she needed some help getting out of the rabbit hole she was jumping into. She thought of telling the girl, telling Castle, who could also benefit from therapy and, while advocating for his children to go, also didn't want to go, but something stopped her. And she knew what. She knew that bringing up therapy would bring up her walls and she wasn't ready to tell him she remembered. So instead she argued about the benefits of therapy but didn't give herself as an example, only pointed out that Harry and Martha didn't seem to be having a problem with it and seemed a lot better. Robin however seemed to be on the Alexis and Castle bandwagon too. She had even gone once, forced by her friends, but as the story goes she spent the session discussing how she thought her friend and ex-boyfriend Ted was moving way too fast with his now fiancée Stella and no, there was nothing weird about her still being good friends with her ex-boyfriend who told her he loved her on their very first date. So, not a success.

"The airport. Waiting for my flight home," he said in a dull voice.

"Not good?"

She heard him laugh humorlessly.

"Not good is an understatement. She freaked out when she saw me in the waiting room of her business. Dragged me away and practically manhandled me into her car and back to her home, where no one could hear us. Apparently, she hasn't come clean with anyone in her life about what's happened. They think she passed out because of low blood sugar. She was contacted by Fallon and Sorenson, but they guaranteed that she could just continue as was. The State was going to make everything legal since she wasn't at fault."

"They'd lose face if the public found out that an outsourcer that the government relies on so much for sensitive matters had a fake background and one made by British Wizards no less."

"Yeah, I'll never understand how they managed. But I think Dumbledore was more aware of the non-magical world than he cared to admit." He still hadn't gone to talk to Potter, despite the man's many pleas. She knew he was angry and wanted to have his feelings about the man under control before confronting him. And the man had been sentenced to 20 years in Sing Sing, living life with his magic completely suppressed by the prison's wards, so he wasn't going anywhere. Dumbledore's trial had yet to start. His lawyer kept asking for more time, she didn't know for what. He'd need a miracle. Meanwhile the prosecution was trying to convince him to take the plea deal and she was hoping he did. The last thing she wanted was for Castle to have to take the stand and relive everything in front of twelve strangers while being attacked by the defense attorney.

"What did she say about the kids?"

"Nothing has changed. The arrangement we had back then continues. She likes her childless life and now she literally has a second chance. Back in England people knew, at both her magical and non-magical places of work they knew she had children, she'd been divorced. So they asked and she had to come up with excuses. Here she is just single without kids."

"Maybe she's just processing everything and she'll change her mind."

"She gave me paperwork giving up her maternal rights Kate. She thought this through. She just hadn't had time to send me the papers." He sounded tired. "I'm not even surprised, you know. And I know she isn't some evil bitch. She just wasn't cut out for kids. She never lied to me. She didn't want kids. But some part of me thought she'd change her mind and now I have to go and break my children's heart. This sucks!"

"I'm sorry."

"Not your fault," he mumbled.

"Still, I'm sorry."

Xx

A/N: Like I said, How I met Your Mother isn't necessarily strictly following the right season. I think she was 28 on season 3, so imagine this was going on in a bit of season threeish/fourish. I just envisioned a very cool scene about Rick's reaction to Robin's job in Japan that I really want to use, and she is a side character. If the seasons aren't perfect it doesn't affect the story.


	7. Leaving your problems behind

**Chapter 7 – Leaving your problems behind**

"Where are we going?" she asked from the passenger seat. After the horrible scare of the other day she was very glad when he called asking her out so she could reassure herself he had indeed survived.

When she was in the academy, learning about this world of magic she would never have imagined existed, she would have scoffed at, having to see demonstrations in front of her, on her to actually believe, she understood the logic. Certain places had wards protecting them. No magic could be done inside or within a certain perimeter. That made for an easier Prison system. The prisons had magic suppressing wards and had wards that changed anything anyone said about magic to the ears of someone who wasn't magical or already in the know. So, if anyone talked about magic near someone who didn't know, they'd think they were talking about something else and be inclined not to pay attention. That was actually a ward that was later spread around cities, thus protecting the Statute of Secrecy more. This way they didn't have to have different prisons. And the magicals had one more incentive not to commit a crime, another punishment.

Banks were another one of those buildings where magic was suppressed, for security reasons. And she had cursed that ward several times while he and Martha were stuck in there. From the personnel and hostage files, there were at least four magicals in the bank at the time of the hostage situations, counting Castle and Martha. They could have subdued the non-magical robbers easily. But the wards weren't there for the people's security, but the money's, and they didn't want people being able to use magic to steal that money.

So, she had spent a very tense day. Worried about Castle and Martha and having to reassure Alexis, Robin and Harry, who was once again petrified that, again, his newly acquired family was in danger – that night during dinner Harry showed Castle the benefits of internet banking. She found that amusing since Castle was always an early adopter of new technologies. Not to mention the fact that Alexis had finally snapped at her. Oh, she knew that was coming. The girl had tried to be polite every time they interacted but she'd noticed the difference. How she was more reserved when talking to Kate, how she preferred to gravitate around anyone else also there when before she would have peppered Kate with questions. She couldn't even blame her. Lanie had told her Castle had been depressed while she was away and the girl had seen him almost getting shot trying to save her. For a second she probably wondered if he had been hit and Kate wondered if the girl, or even Castle, knew he had indeed saved her. The doctors said he stopped the bullet from actually reaching her heart with accidental magic. Out of sheer desperation. If the bullet had reached her heart she would most likely had died immediately, or if for some miracle she did survive she would most certainly not have had the full recovery she did. She would have been impaired for life and not been able to return to duty.

After everything was said and done, Martha and Castle were safe and the bad guys behind bars, all she had wanted to do was hold him and never let go. But they hadn't had a minute alone. Dinner had been wonderful, a celebration of life. But a full celebration with his entire family there.

So, yes, she had welcomed this break. That is, until he refused to tell her where he was taking her.

"You know, I've noticed you aren't a very patient person."

"Why is that?"

"Because you've asked where we are going several times now," he smiled at her from the driver's seat.

"And you have yet to answer."

"Right," he nodded. "You'd think you'd have gotten the message by now that this is a surprise."

"Castle!" she said warningly. "You do know I have a gun right?"

"Yep," he said happily turning on the blinker and taking an exit.

"Private airspace? Castle, what is going on?"

He didn't answer just calmly chose a spot to park and got out of the car. She followed even more confused as he went towards the trunk, and as he opened the trunk and she saw the object inside she glared at him.

"You are kidding me right?"

"Magical transportation is highly regulated in the US. You can't Apparate or portkey anywhere within 300 miles of either coast or the borders for national and border control security reasons. You can't floo within 100 miles and flying," he said happily grabbing a shiny broom from the trunk. "Can only be done for sport or leisure in private magical airfields so as to not interfere with Airplanes and Helicopters air traffic. Plus, you know, we don't want a non-magical posting pictures of people flying around on brooms on Facebook. Private magical airfields have wards that keep people from seeing what is going on inside."

"I know all this," she said simply.

"Well, that's why I brought you here. I couldn't very well take off with us from the roof of my building."

"Castle, I ain't getting on that twig."

"This is not a twig," he said affronted caressing the broom. "This is a state of the art Boeing 2000. One of the best brooms out there, no matter what the Nimbus company states, built by one of the best Airplane companies in the world. They really know their aerodynamics."

"Castle," she protested.

"I'm a good flyer, dare I say, an excellent flier."

"Cas-"

"Kate," he sighed. "I haven't used much magic in the last eight years. I put up wards at home. I helped Alexis practice a bit, but I shied away from magic because- well, I didn't know much about myself but I knew magic had taken away everything from me. And I may remember now, but I honestly don't feel like using magic again for the day to day, I don't miss magic that much. But this Kate, flying, the sensation of leaving all your problems behind, that I miss. Let me take you out."

She looked at his eager face. She had never felt different with Castle just because she wasn't magical. He was right, through all the years they'd known each other she could count on the fingers of her hands the times he used magic, and they were usually for safety. When Dunn bombed her apartment, after he broke down the door and got her out and seemed to finally remember he could do magic, he extinguished the fire. Her apartment wasn't saved but all of her stuff was. He tried to stop the bullet and though he hadn't managed to completely stop her from getting shot the bullet never reached her heart and he kept her from bleeding out. He had tried getting them out of the freezer even though he knew he wouldn't be able to. Like he said, for reasons of national security you couldn't just Apparate or portkey within 300 miles of each coast, but more than that, there was a half a mile extension from the seaside, borders and any airport or non-magical airfield where no magic at all could be done, and they had been by the docks. She had known he had put up wards in her apartment and the cabin. She might be non-magical but as a cop she'd been around magic enough to recognize the slight electric spark of protective wards. She had seen Ryan dismantle them at times and had become familiar with the feeling. And her father had confessed to giving Castle the address and keys to the cabin when she announced that as soon as she was released from the hospital she'd be going there. The fact that he knew where to find her, went through the trouble of going there to put up wards so she'd be safe from her shooter, and still hadn't broken his promise to wait for her call let her know how much she had hurt him by not calling.

But none of that had changed once he got his memories back. Yeah, he amped up the wards at the loft, to make sure absolutely no one could hurt his children, but other than that, he was still using the espresso machine to make coffee.

"Okay, but I swear to you Castle. You let me fall."

"I won't, trust me.

"Always."

Xx

Okay, so maybe he had been right and maybe this was a great sensation, which she had felt similar only when on her bike. She'd have to take him on her bike now. And the fact that she had to hold tight to him wasn't bad either. He had been right. The wind on their faces, the beauty of the scenery. People might not be able to see them but they could see so far away. Her problems had definitely been left behind, even if temporarily. Up here there was only the two of them. No snipper waiting to attack. No lurking British Wizards who might want to take revenge on them for taking down their idol. No left over Death Eater who might take exception to their very vague involvement in Voldemort's death. No new Captain who kept them on edge. Here they just were in the moment. At first he had been cautious, concerned for her wellbeing. For not scaring her with bold maneuvers but as she started smiling and whooping he started with exhilarating dives and twists and she was loving every second of it. She lost track of time and couldn't possibly say how long they had been flying when he finally took them down and they laid down in the grass watching the other fliers.

"This was great!" she said with a megawatt smile and he smiled happily back at her.

"Told you. I've always loved flying. I wasn't really good at sports. In elementary school I was always picked last. I wasn't really popular and I figured Hogwarts would be the same, you know. After all, I was a geeky kid with glasses who loved reading and sci-fi and could never invite friends home, but at Hogwarts they didn't know liking sci-fi wasn't cool. And I could fly, really well. Always could. I couldn't throw a ball but I could outfly any seeker out there.

"But at the same time there are only two places you can fly at Hogwarts. The flying lessons in first year and if you're in the team. Otherwise you'll have a teacher yelling at you and be in detention in two seconds. That's why first years aren't allowed brooms. They aren't allowed in the team, something about not wanting distractions in the adaptation year, so there is no need for a broom. So my second year, I went to tryouts. I tried for every position. I just wanted to be able to fly and if I was in the team, I could fly even if there wasn't a practice or game because all I had to say was that I was practicing. Needless to say I didn't fare well in the throwing the ball department, but I did manage to outfly everyone so, despite my glasses, the captain decided I would be a good seeker. After all, I didn't actually have to spot the snitch, as long as I could outfly the other seeker. I got really good at spotting the snitch though. Even with the glasses. Which by the way I got rid of as soon as Lasik came out!" he shook his head remembering those dreaded glasses, and how he had wanted contact lenses but his mother had forbidden him. Not knowing what would happen if a stray spell caught him in the eye while wearing contacts, or what potion fumes might do to them.

"I ended up being popular, because of Quidditch," he snorted. "Because I brought the victories to Gryffindor they overlooked what they called my eccentricities. Me keeping up with my non-magical studies, my talk about how we needed to merge with non-magical society. They just rolled their eyes as if they were indulging me. Kind of like you do when I give you one of my Alien abduction or magic theories," he winked at her.

"That's different. You are being ridiculous then. You know that any case where magic is _really_ involved is instantly turned to the Magical Division of the PD."

"But the curse of the mummy-"

"Castle, you know as well as I do that no Goblin would let a magical mummy end up in a non-magical museum!"

He grinned unrepentant at her and she shook her head fondly and then she didn't know what possessed her to ask.

"Did you take her flying?"

"Who?"

"Your ex-wife."

"Lily – sorry Gillian hates flying!" he snorted. "As a matter of fact she hated a lot of the things I liked. Don't get me wrong. She is a good person, and, well, my only problem with her is how she's hurting the children," he grimaced remembering how Harry had stoically nodded when he had tried to explain that his mom wouldn't be showing up. He had been worried with Harry's just " _That's okay, I've got you and that's already loads better than before"_. He had talked to Harry's therapist and the doctor had said that for now they shouldn't worry, because to Harry, he might have wished his mother was around but the family he had now was, like he had said, a lot more than he had dreamed of. Maybe once he was more secure in his family, when he was older, he'd feel the need to revisit the subject.

Alexis hadn't said anything either. She hadn't been surprised at all and, much like her brother had said they had all the family they needed. He worried but there wasn't much more he could do other than let them know he was there for them. "But if the war hadn't been going on. If you weren't so scared to fight with the people you cared about because you never knew what would happen when you went out the door we would have come to blows long before Alexis was ever conceived, never mind getting married. We were complete opposites. I've learned that a little difference is good, you gotta complement each other to work, but you can't also be complete opposites, you have to have similar tastes and goals or else you won't work."

"Really," she tried to sound nonchalant as if she didn't know who the message was intended to. Yes, they were different in so many things. She was grounded, he was a dreamer. She was guarded, he was open, sometimes too open. But at the same time he was right, they were both sci-fi geeks, they both found a fascination in understanding why people committed the horrible acts they did, in the reasons behind murder, in finding justice. They both loved the thrill of the mystery and playing practical jokes.

"Uhu. Cam once said that dreamers need grounders and grounders need dreamers. Because dreamers together would always live in the clouds and grounders together would never take flight. Dreamers need grounders to pull them back to reality and grounders need dreamers to pull them up. He was talking about his family. You know, him and Mitch, and his in-laws. And I remember thinking he was right, but I also remember thinking that he and Mitch have a lot in common too. They like the same things, they both like the family life, if they didn't they wouldn't work well. So I think you need that balance, and Lily and I, we didn't have that balance. Or Gina and I," he snorted.

"Gina?" she asked curiously. She had misunderstood them, the day he left for the summer to finish writing Naked Heat. She thought they were going up there together. The way Gina had taken his arm possessively. Turns out she had promotion events up there and he had offered a place for her in the house. Also turns out, she was dating some doctor who lived in the Hamptons and aside from when she came to pressure him about chapters, she was almost never there. He had spent a lonely summer up there and she had spent a lonely summer down here.

"Yeah, can you imagine that? Mother tried to set us up once. She thought we looked good on paper. But no, Gina is my friend, I care about her, but we'd kill each other," he laughed.

"I thought you were together, back when you went up to the Hamptons."

"I told you we weren't. Remember, when you were grilling me about Maya. When you _arrested_ me."

"I already apologized for that."

"Actually, no, you haven't," he said simply.

"Of course I have."

"Nope."

"I did in my head!"

"That doesn't count!" he poked her side laughing.

"Well, you never apologized for not calling!" she huffed.

"I thought you wouldn't want me to," he said more subdued and she could see the hurt in his eyes before he averted them to look at the sky. "We said we'd see each other in the Fall and you were with Demming. I didn't want to intrude."

She heard the dig. He had never said he'd call during the summer. Unlike her couple of days.

"I wasn't."

"What?"

"With Demming. I broke up before you left. I was going to take you up in your offer but then Gina showed up and I chickened out."

"Why?" he asked thoroughly confused.

"Because Gina showed up," she repeated exasperated.

"But she's just my friend," he said even more confused.

"Well I didn't know that, did I?"

"Was that why you were so angry with me? Kate, you'd been dating Demming for almost a month and I tried to pretend you weren't serious but then when you lied about the Bed & Breakfast I- I thought I was in your way. And you know me. I hate being alone. My house is always full. So when Gina mentioned she had to go to the Hamptons for the summer I offered a ride and boarding. But we were never together."

"I know. I know that now. And I shouldn't have been mad. Intellectually I knew you weren't at fault. You couldn't have known but-"

"The heart isn't rational?" he offered raising an eyebrow.

"Definitely not," she snorted.

"For the record. I haven't been with anyone since Ellie Monroe. And even her, if you had given me any indication – she wouldn't have stood a chance. I've been waiting for the wall to come down Kate and I'm still here waiting. You just need to let me know I'm not waiting in vain," he said earnestly.

She should have changed the subject of this conversation a long time ago, she knew they'd reach dangerous waters and she still didn't have the guts to let him know she heard him the first time. Though he had said he loved her again. In anger but he had said it. And he sure as hell had demonstrated he loved her. But now he was stating with all the letters that he was waiting for her and she had to give him something.

"You're not. But I'm not there yet."

"That's okay," he smiled at her and leaned his head closer lifting his arm and pointing at a young boy doing drills. "That's a Wronski Feint. I pulled one once at a game. Hooch gave me detention after the game for malicious intent against my fellow schoolmate. Not my fault he followed me," he defended himself and she just laid there resting her head on his shoulder as he continued to tell her his adventures in Quidditch.

Xx

"Have you considered the possibility that they were not malicious, that they are just, you know, stupid?" Sherlock asked leaning back on the counter at the loft. Sherlock had arrived yesterday and was staying at his parent's house. Rick had told him to take his room at the loft but he had said Rick and Harry, and especially, Rick and Kate, needed for the loft not to be Grand Central Station. Rick hadn't wanted to but he agreed. Especially after the sniper case they had just finished. He had known Kate was struggling and he had wanted to help but he also knew she would rebuff him, so he had asked Esposito for help. She had thanked him later and had surprised him even more when she showed up at the loft with the first of those 100 coffees for a quiet movie night. If Sherlock had been there she might not have been that forward.

"Stupid?" Rick frowned skeptically at Sherlock. He had asked Sherlock to check on Frank and Alice, after the news of their not-so miraculous recovery had reached him. Interestingly enough, through Sherlock, who had managed to keep an eye on everything that was going on in the British Wizarding World. He had reported to him Snape had been the one to contact the Secret Service and even provide the passage to Hogwarts Castle and a contact with the Goblins so they could retrieve two of the Horcruxes. And then he let him know that at the same time he was getting his memories back, Frank and Alice Longbottom had woken up.

He was conflicted about the couple. Frank was his big cousin, he had always been his friend. But at the same time Augusta had had no compunctions in helping Dumbledore. He and Charlus had to tell her about what happened to them because Augusta had access to a family tapestry and she had the right to execute his will. She had also led the Wizengamot vote that let her and anyone else who directly or indirectly helped Dumbledore and Potter free.

On one hand, he understood they were not responsible for Augusta's actions. After all, he was related to her and Potter too. But on the other, Frank and Alice were currently living with Augusta like a happy family and as if she hadn't done anything. And according to Sherlock, since Dumbledore had already been arrested they were content that justice had been served. Never mind all the bureaucrats who didn't do their job in the placement and protection of a minor at Dumbledore's request, on McGonagall who actively put a ward at Private Drive to guarantee Harry would be hurt and Augusta who helped keep the fact he wasn't dead on the hush hush.

On the other hand though, Frank and Alice were as much as victims as he was and he wanted to make sure they weren't being coerced in any manner. So he sent Sherlock to talk to them. He knew that despite not being magical Sherlock could hold his own against magical folk. Sherlock hadn't revealed who sent him. Introducing himself as a consultant from the Yard, but after his first contact, in which he verified that no, Frank and Alice weren't being coerced and were fine, he maintained contact with them and had even met the others, Sirius, Severus and Remus.

Apparently, Sorenson had been right. Dumbledore's arrest had sent the British Wizards on a spiral. Moreover, his arrest, for violating International laws allowed the British Crown and the ICW to finally put some pressure on the British Wizards and they were given a deadline to adapt, to bring their society up to speed with the non-magical world and other societies and would be embargoed by other counties until they did. The Castles selling all the Potter companies to parties who could enforce that on the Potter companies' employees with the help of Mycroft Holmes, just gave them that extra push they needed and after decades, centuries of refusal, the British Wizards had finally had to start moving their butts against their wishes.

They had created a committee formed by Hogwarts's Heads of Houses - which apparently Lupin was now one. He had been hired as the DADA teacher and took over for McGonagall who became headmistress. How that irked him. That she was promoted. The Head of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office, his former boss Arthur Weasley, and Frank, Alice and Sirius who had volunteered, probably since they were all victims of the archaic system in the British Wizarding World. They had all come here, to New York, much to Rick's annoyance, to learn about the American Wizarding School system. Sherlock had accompanied them as a glorified babysitter to translate the non-magical they didn't understand and to make sure they didn't break the Statute of Secrecy, and Rick knew, to keep an eye on them, even if he was worried Sherlock was becoming too fond of the Longbottoms.

The one consolation Rick had was that they had never received a full Magical Visa, which meant that upon entrance in the US they were given magical blocking bracelets that only customs and borders officials could remove. A policy that had been instituted after 9/11 and that made the extents of Potter's and Dumbledore's scheme even grander. They had managed to override dozens of protection measures there were for a magical foreigner to come to the US and the Feds still didn't know how because Dumbledore wasn't talking and Potter said that Dumbledore was the one who took care of everything.

"Yes, stupid. Don't get me wrong, I think that in Lupin's case there is a fare bit of resentment he felt towards your children that fed into his willingness to be stupid but I don't think they actually knew what was going on. I think they believed Dumbledore, or at least really wanted to believe him."

Rick crossed his arms annoyed and Sherlock hastened to defend his position, "Hear me out. I'm not saying they are blameless. They should have inquired further. They were your friends, they knew you didn't trust Dumbledore. So Dumbledore's word that Harry was fine shouldn't have been enough. And Black especially should have never handed Harry to Dumbledore, or, you know, not tried to defend himself when he was arrested. But my point is, as much as I believe they willingly fooled themselves, I also don't think they would have stood by had they actually known Harry was being hurt or you were alive and memoryless. They're not like McGonagall or your Aunt who actually knew what was going on."

"I'd known Remus wasn't fond of the children. And even Sirius wasn't always thrilled. He liked to play with them, but I saw how he resented them when I didn't join them for adventures anymore," Rick nodded grimly. "But I thought that would pass you know? As the children got older, as they maybe became parents themselves and understood what I was experiencing. Not everyone likes children. But I still trusted them to have my back and I thought they understood that meant having my children's back. That Remus and Severus could just go on with their lives without even checking on Harry, that Sirius did the one thing I told him not to do. Handed Harry to the one person I made him promise not to. That's a betrayal to me that I can't forgive Sherlock, even if they weren't being malicious. Just stupid. I can forgive a lot Sherlock, but never hurting my children," Rick said fervently and Sherlock nodded understandingly.

xx

A/N:

Thank you all for the support this story has been receiving! You guys are great!

Rick and Kate seem to be moving forward and Rick is being confronted with his feelings towards his old friends.

On another note, there is a campaign going on for those interested. Now that we were given the Castle/Beckett happy ending, for ABC to take ahead the idea of a Castle PI spin-off they had mentioned previously knowing that while Rick and the others are dealing with PI cases Kate Beckett will still be kicking ass out there. They did leave the door wide open for that since they only showed us their family happy ending but didn't much say what they were doing. So, anyone who would like to continue having an hour of fun mystery instead of an hour of depression of darker shows (Me! Me! I don't watch TV to get depressed!) should drop a tweet or a comment to ABC or on the Castle official pages showing their support.

 **#YestoCastlePISpinOff**

 **#CastlePI**


	8. Water spilling

**Chapter 8 – Water spilling**

"So, I hear the world is ending because of a leaky faucet," Kate said with a straight face as Rick handed her her coffee as they were leaving the hotel that hosted their crime scene towards the precinct. He hadn't had time to stop for the coffee before so he quickly dashed out as she was taking witness statements.

"I'm going to establish a Non-Disclosure rule at this rate. Who yapped?"

"I don't reveal my sources," she smiled coyly as they walked towards the car. "You could have just said congratulations."

"I was worried! I worry! That's my thing!"

Okay, so he had handled the whole thing horribly. And that Sherlock had arrived just in time to hear the end of the fight and see Robin storming out hadn't helped at all. He seemed to take her side. Rick huffed, Sherlock seemed intent on making Rick see other people's side lately. Talk about irony!

Robin had arrived at the loft as he was putting the finishing touches on his latest chapter. He had promptly saved the document and given her his undivided attention as she said she had good news. He assumed she had gotten the job she was auditioning for. But no, that wasn't the news. Apparently the network had instead offered her a position as an International Correspondent. In Japan. Japan! And there was a small part of his brain telling him to stop gawking at her. To congratulate her, but the largest part had been the one to get into action when she prompted him. "Rick," and he jumped up and started pacing.

"You don't speak the language!" he cried.

True to his sister's spirit, she went from shocked to affronted quite quickly.

"So what?"

"What do you mean, so what? What if you need something, you won't be able to call for help!"

"I'm sure someone will speak English," she snapped sarcastically. "And I can always learn. This is a great opportunity."

"Yes, in France, or Spain or you know, one of the several countries out there whose language you actually speak!"

"I can handle myself!" at this point they were both yelling.

"No you can't. You don't even do your groceries. I do them and have them delivered to you."

"I can do my groceries just fine."

"In Japanese?" he yelled. "And what if you have a leaky faucet and you need a plumber? You won't be able to call one and then your apartment will flood and the whole building will flood while you're trying to find someone who speaks English, which will be hindered by your weakened state of starvation because you couldn't do the groceries and by the time you come back the whole world will have flooded but there will be no boats waiting for us in the Himalayas. All because you don't speak the language! You clearly can't go!"

"Well, I clearly am going so you better start saying goodbye to your nice world!"

Okay, so yes. He handled that very poorly but he panicked. His little sister wanted to go across the world where she couldn't just call him for help if she needed anything!

"Look, I get where you are coming from. Especially with all you guys have been going through recently, but don't you think maybe that is exactly why she needs to go? Maybe she needs to find herself. Her friends are moving on, Marshall and Lily buying an apartment, Ted getting married, Barney…I really don't know what Barney does," she said perplexed and he just shrugged back. "Anyway, all doing new things and she decided to move too. To get out of her comfort zone. She won't be there forever and you can Skype all the time," Kate reasoned.

"I guess," he mumbled not knowing that in a few hours he would be wishing a possible 2012 scenario because of a leaky faucet was all he was worried about.

Xx

"Okay, relax, we got this. That's just a very huge kitty," he tried to calm them down. How he missed the leaky faucet now as the tiger started pawing at the hole in the wall separating them.

"A huge carnivorous kitty Castle!"

"With all due respect, I think they are all car- okay, not the time for jokes. Wait, Prongs!" he cried happily.

She looked at him as if he had lost his mind and he clarified. "I'm an Animagus, long story. I'll tell you later. Bottom line is I can turn into a stag I could take Tony over there."

"Castle, number one, I'm pretty sure stags can't take on tigers, two, we're handcuffed which means I'd be handcuffed to your paw, and that is if the cuff didn't cut into your paw, and you don't have your wand or else we'd be out of here already!" she pointed at his bare wrist where his watch/wand had been.

"I don't actually need a wand to transform."

"I'd still be handcuffed to your paw, close to the floor."

"Fine," he huffed. "What do you suggest then?"

She looked around, "The fridge!"

Xx

Later at the precinct, after the DEA agent had left and he had fumbled with the word hitched. Just after she said, "Next time without the tiger," she eyed him hungrily and he asked warily "What?"

"Wanna take a ride to Central Park?"

"Why?"

"Prongs," she smiled mischievously.

"Uh?"

"I want to see him," she waggled her eyebrows.

"Why Katherine Beckett, I am not that easy. I'm not just going to show you Prongs. What kind of boy do you think I am? I at least expect a dinner first," he said adjusting his jacket primly.

"Remy's?"

"Okay."

Xx

"You're gorgeous," she said slowly and reverently reaching her hand to his snout. He was huge. She didn't know why she was surprised, after all Castle was a big man, tall and broad. That's something she's always noticed. She was tall, and she was used that because she was tall she was either at eye's height with people or they were shorter. Castle had been the first person in a long time to come along that made her have to tilt her head up a bit to look into his eyes and that had threatened her at first. But then his size became a comfort as she imagined, and then after the Lockwood case didn't have to imagine, his embrace. Her Castle. Strong and broad and that could shield her from the harshness of life with his light.

She always marveled at that, because people forgot he was big. They saw him goofing around, always preened. His hair perfectly done. His clothes perfectly pressed, clearly expensive and well chosen. A smile always on his face and they forgot about his size. Felt comfortable around him. Worried more about the much shorter Esposito by his side because he exuded aggressiveness and didn't realize that if he wanted to, Castle could and would use his size to his advantage.

Prongs snorted and bent his leg in a clear sign for her to get on him.

"No, Castle. We can't. What if someone sees us?" she looked around. In the US, Animagi didn't have to be registered like in England. The US understood that as an invasion of privacy. Much like fingerprints, only felons had Animagi forms registered. But that didn't exclude the non-magicals who would find spotting someone riding a stag in the middle of Central Park weird to say the least.

He shook his head and snorted and she could clearly see him rolling his eyes and giving her his best boyish grin. They had come to a more secluded area of the park, so no one would see him transform, but galloping away would be completely different.

He pushed her with his muzzle towards his back and she gave in. Trying not to hurt him, how would she do this? She mounted the stag and yelped and hung tightly to his neck as he started galloping, at first with care and then with abandon. Much like he had done with the broom. And much like that day, she left her problems behind as she rode a stag named Prongs through Central Park.

She wasn't the only one. There was something about running through the woods without being able to talk that made him able to quiet his thoughts and focus on a specific problem. And with the person he trusted most in the world trusting him in such a way he decided Sherlock was right and he need to confront the people he used to trust.

Xx

There was a knock on the door of the flat they were renting. They were an under-budgeted project, despite the fact that they clearly needed to adapt, the old farts in the Wizengamot and the ministry thought more productive to rail against the injustice of the situation and how Muggles – read, the Queen of England - dared demand anything than actually move their butts. Minerva had huffed and puffed against sending all her Heads of House in the middle of the school year. But she had no choice, the Americans had been clear, they weren't going to waste their time explaining anything to people with no power within Hogwarts, but they also didn't want her because of her involvement with Harry's placement. He still didn't know the details of what happened. They knew Dorea and Sarah's memories had been bound and they had been sent to the US. They knew Harry had been sent to Lily's abusive relatives and they knew Minerva and Mrs. Longbottom had helped. And they only knew that because of a big fight Frank had with his mother since the Wizengamot had forbidden details of the charges the Americans pressed to be disclosed. The Prophet had only been able to disclose that this had all started because the Americans arrested Dumbledore upon discovering the Hero of the British Wizarding World was being abused and wasn't British.

While Augusta had been devastated at the knowledge of what Dumbledore had done to her son she didn't seem to care about her great-nephew or her sister and niece, defending that she was protecting Neville – if Harry fulfilled the prophecy Neville was in the clear – and his legacy, especially after everything James had done to destroy their family's good name.

Sirius snorted when he thought that the reason they were here was James. If not for him, they'd still be wondering where to start to be able to meet the demands of the Crown and the ICW. But James had always advocated the merge and he had studied and planned everything using the American school system as a model, and as his boss, Arthur Wesley, had kept those plans and had built on them for this project.

That was the main reason Sirius volunteered. That and being closer to his friend Remus. He knew he was still messed up from Azkaban. He had been pardoned as soon as the Americans presented Charlus's testimony on his innocence to the Wizengamot but he had been in such a state, trying to find Peter, who he'd seen in a picture of Arthur's family in the Prophet, that he took almost two weeks to actually present himself. Thankfully Amelia Bones and Rufus Scrimgeour - funnily enough, the same two who had questioned him when he had first been arrested and refused to talk because that was the rule if an Order member was caught. Stay silent and wait for Dumbledore to get you out - acted fast securing Pettigrew who was still living as a pet of little Percy Weasley. So, he didn't want to be alone.

But he also knew that as much as he might have been Peter's victim he had also screwed up monumentally. He had thought James was exaggerating about Dumbledore and when Hagrid told him he was taking Harry to Dumbledore, his only thought was going after Peter, not keeping his promise to James, and Harry paid the price. But he had no idea where Harry, his aunt and cousin where to start fixing things, so he figured the next best thing was working to make sure James's vision was executed.

So here he was, crammed in this flat in New York with two of his former teachers, his best friend, his distant cousin, his wife and their son, Arthur, his son Charlie who had begged to come – apparently he had designs of working in Romania and had heard of the difficulties his brother, who was working in Egypt, was facing for not knowing how to operate the muggle machinery and wanted to find out how he could remedy his situation - and his school nemesis. Worse, he was actually being civil to his school nemesis. Frank and Alice were acting like they were the best of friends, apparently he kept reading some books from some guy named Richard Castle to them and that made him the best thing since sliced bread. He had tried reading Heat Wave but he didn't understand half of what was going on with the muggle stuff. The writing was familiar though.

But, despite his annoyance with Snape, the fact was; Snape was an ally against an even bigger annoyance, Sherlock Holmes. Frank had suggested him to help them. Arthur had been over the moon and Sirius, Remus and Severus could only groan because Holmes never missed one opportunity to dig at the three of them, specifically. No he wasn't being paranoid thank you very much. He especially liked to snort any time the Potters were discussed. This one time Sirius had mused out loud why Dorea and Sarah hadn't come back home and Holmes had snorted:

 _"You people took all of their memories, their identities up to their accents and dumped all of them over there with nothing. They had to remake themselves from scratch and you think what? They'd just pretend nothing happened and go back to their old lives."_

Yes, he kind of did. And he took offense to Holmes blaming them for Dumbledore's action and said so.

 _"When your entire society refused to prosecute him for his crime you might as well have said that what he did, destroying their identities so he could kidnap and torture **a child** was okey-dokey-okay."_

Holmes, thankfully, wasn't staying with them. Apparently his family had property here in New York and he would stay there or at some place called Serenity, no idea what that was, with his friend Rick, whom Holmes mentioned a lot as if they should know who Rick was, no idea who that was either.

Sirius shook his thoughts as he glanced back at where the others were discussing everything they had learned this morning when visiting an Elementary school. Elementary! The children started learning magical theory years before they could even have a wand. Because medical professionals were one of the categories of muggles who knew about the Wizarding World, every child born in America was tested at birth, and if they were magical, Social Services explained everything to the muggle parents, so they knew from the start and knew which schools to send their children to.

They also didn't actually have wands here, wands were built into bracelets, or watches or rings that people could use to focus their magic on without being obvious! They were so behind he had no idea how they'd completely change their school system, much less educate the adults. He opened the door and gaped. He had to be hallucinating. The hallucination didn't seem happy. The hallucination was scowling at him with his hands stuffed in the pockets of his dark muggle coat.

"I was going to ignore your presence here. Thought of taking the kids up to the Hamptons to wait your visit out but Alexis would never go for that. So I was just going to ignore you, but I need to know the story. I need to know why? What could have driven my best friends, my brothers to betray me in such a manner?"

The hallucination was speaking in the wrong accent, "James?" he heard Remus ask faintly and some part of his brain supplied the fact that the others, alerted by the voice at the door, had come forward.

"That's not my name anymore, hasn't been my name since the girls and I had to rename ourselves over eight years ago and unlike Frank and Alice I'm not in the mood to pretend you people didn't dump me and my family memoryless and penniless over here so you could torture my son," James huffed. "Pete- Pettigrew, not gonna call him Peter, wouldn't do that to a decent Peter I know. Pettigrew I understand. He was always a coward. Always hitching his wagon to the winning team. I just stupidly believed he thought that was us. But the three of you," he said taking one of his hands out of his pockets and pointing his finger angrily at him, Snape and Remus. "That, I've been racking my brain and can't come up with a good reason. Sherlock thinks you're just that stupid, but me, nah. I don't buy it."

"You're Rick," Alice said as if having an epiphany and James just gave her a look that he usually reserved for when someone used to say something really obvious and stupid. " _You_ sent Sherlock, not the Yard. That's why Sherlock doesn't like these three."

"And yet, he tried to convince me to hear them out," Rick snapped.

"James-" Frank started going forward.

"Richard," he said firmly. "Richard Alexander Rodgers Castle."

"You're the writer," Severus said. "That's why the tone was familiar."

"Yeah, and the fact that my silly story-telling is what saved my family has not escaped my attention Severus," he snapped again. "So, anyone gonna start defending their actions or did I waste the subway fare?"

"We thought you were dead," Sirius tried to explain.

"That makes your actions worse Sirius. That you thought you'd just dump my child, the child you promised to protect, just because I was dead so you what? Didn't have to keep your promises anymore?" he shrugged his shoulders in a mocking manner.

"No," Sirius said trying to take control of this surreal conversation. "I thought you were dead up until I opened this door!"

"Ahh, that is _so believable_ you know, with the fact that I pressed charges against Dumbledore and his cohorts. That Sherlock's mentioned you talked about the subject and that interview I gave that was broadcasted and printed all over the world including the Wizarding section of The Guardian, which sells in _England_ ," he pressed. "But you're right. After all _The Daily_ I'm so up Dumbledore's and the Ministry's ass I can't see the sun _Prophet_ didn't report it so _no one_ would know."

"Gee James, can you try to be more sarcastic? I think there's someone in China who didn't realize you think we're assholes," Sirius snapped back as if he hadn't spent the last eight years mourning his friend and they were just quibbling about Quidditch teams.

"Richard!" Rick snapped.

"Whatever!" he snapped back and was only interrupted by a young voice.

"Mr. Castle, does this mean Lizzie is alive too?"

For the first time since he arrived Jame-Rick dropped the scowl and looked at the young man asking the question and smiled, "As I live and breathe, little Charlie Weasley?" Charlie nodded. "Have you no shame? Who allowed you to get that big?"

"Mum feeds us well," the boy smiled.

"Yeah, I remember her food," Rick said fondly.

"Is she?"

"Yes, _Alexis_ , is very much alive and well. She's in school right now."

"So let me get this straight. You went and named her what Lily vetoed," Sirius crossed his arms and Rick mimicked the gesture.

"I didn't really remember she had vetoed it now did I?"

"She didn't say anything?"

"They didn't dump her with us. Apparently, she was more deserving and they gave her a background and means to support herself. I talked to her for the first time in eight years a few weeks back. The fact that you people declared that woman mother of the year is laughable!"

"Where is she?" Severus asked and Sirius remembered he had been friends with Lily since before Hogwarts.

"Her name is Gillian Foster, google her," Rick snapped.

"Go- what? What the heck is that?" Sirius cried annoyed.

"Thought you were here to learn," Rick mocked.

"Okay, fine, you hate us! We got the message!"

"And yet you still haven't given me the story!" Rick yelled back.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"There's always a story!"

"Okay, boys. This is going nowhere fast," Professor Flitwick said authoritatively and was pleased to note that despite the fact that both men hadn't been boys or his students for over 20 years they quickly acquiesced. "Jam- sorry, force of habit, Richard. Please come in so we can all talk civilly. I understand you're upset. I'm upset myself at the conclusions I'm making about someone I once thought of as a mentor. But yelling at the door won't help anyone."

Rick looked mutinously and gave Sirius, Remus and Severus especially fierce scowls but he came in and sat on the couch of the common area the Professor had indicated. Charlie Weasley, who seemed unperturbed at the fact that they were all talking to someone they had all known and thought dead, sat right next to him and asked excitedly.

"Could I meet her?"

"Hum?"

"Li- sorry Alexis. I don't know if you remember but we were best friends and, I've always missed her."

"Charlie took her death, or apparent death, very hard," Arthur said calmly pulling up a chair close to where Rick and Charlie were sitting.

"Yeah, I remember. When the CIA took down Voldemort – seriously!" he asked annoyed at the flinches. "When they took him down the memory block that was placed on us was broken and I got to see all the thirty-two years that had been blocked. I'm pretty sure I remember stuff normal people don't, like from when I was a small child or that time," he said with a fake smile that dropped immediately as he deadpanned towards his former friends, "I made my best friends specifically promise they'd keep my kids away from Dumbledore's clutches and they did. Even after I told them not to promise anything unless they were absolutely sure they were ready to keep their word."

"James," Remus started and ignored Rick's scowl. "There wasn't anything I could do. I mean, with my condi-"

"You could have executed my will."

"Er- what."

"You were a witness and one of the named executors of my will. Remember that? You know, you shouldn't have forgotten since I'm the one with the memories problem. Had you tried to execute my will the fact that I wasn't dead would come to light, so why didn't you? And when you answer that keep in mind that in investigating Dumbledore the Feds looked into his financials."

"What does he mean by that?" Alice asked forcibly.

"Yes Remus, what do I mean by that?"

"Dumbledore helped me out. I had a hard time finding a job because of my condition. He knew that with James dead my financial support would be gone."

"Nope 'cause I left you a pretty penny in my will, which you knew about."

Remus inhaled deeply trying to ignore Rick's tone. "I trusted him. I know you didn't but I did. He was my mentor. The person to give me a chance to attend Hogwarts and he asked me not to execute the will for Harry's safety."

"Why? Why wouldn't Harry be safe-"

"I don't know James! I didn't ask! We never did. Dumbledore gave orders and we obeyed them. That's how the Order worked, you know that. If I recall correctly that's why you left the Order."

"So in between being loyal to me or Dumbledore you chose Dumble-"

"I didn't choose anyone! I didn't know I was choosing! I trusted him!"

By then they were both standing and yelling at each other.

"But I didn't and you knew that!"

"I thought you were being paranoid! You always were with those children! You refused to leave them alone to join us in the full moon! Ever since Lizzie was born you were never one of the pack anymore!"

"And there's the rub right Remus? You didn't like my children, you resented them so you couldn't care less what happened to Harry!"  
"I was your friend first!"

"And they were my children. No one! Absolutely no one is more important than them! Even Kate and she comes to a really close second!"

"Who's Kate?" Sirius mumbled.

"Nikki Heat," Alice whispered back not taking her eyes from the scene as the yelling duo continued to ignore them.

A loud whistle was heard and the two yelling men stopped to look at Arthur. Mild mannered Arthur.

"Okay. That's enough. Ja- Richard. You wanted Remus's reason and you got his reason. Ah, ah," he scolded Rick lightly as he was gearing himself up to continue. "I understand where you are coming from, as a parent myself but you asked for his reasons. Now you've heard him and now Remus knows why you won't forgive-"

"Excuse me?" Remus started.

"You may have been friends once upon a time Remus," Frank said simply. "But James is right. As a parent, our children come first, and any friend who can't accept that can't be a friend anymore. Simple as that. Now seat down James."

"Rich-"

"Okay, fine. Richard. You have to give us a little time to adapt!"

"Funny, I wasn't given time to adapt. I was dumped here with no memory, no money, and three people who depended on me. We just had to start scrambling for survival."

"And from what I hear of your books you survived well," Frank said.

"Yeah, after I started publishing. Before that, the only reason we had a roof over our heads was the generosity of a weird stranger. But then again, everyone, even ourselves, were strangers then," he said bitterly. Just because they managed to get themselves back up didn't excuse what was done to them.

"Is that how you met Sherlock?" Alice asked curiously. "You said weird."

"I'm not comfortable airing Sherlock's private business without his consent. Unlike certain people here, I've been always able to count on Sherlock from day one."

Sirius understood the dig and shrugged. "I don't have an excuse. I was a hotheaded idiot. If I could go back I'd do as you asked. I'm just trying to atone for what I did by working on your project since I couldn't find Aunt Dorea-"

"Martha."

"Aunt Martha and –"

"Robin."

"Really, Richard and Robin," he snickered and sobered at the glare he received. "Robin. I thought Harry was with them. We knew your dad."

"Step-father."

"Uh?"

"Turns out that biologically speaking he's my uncle. Robin's too. Long story."

"Okay, well, we knew Charlus and Dumbledore were arrested on charges of kidnapping, fraud, memory tampering but we never had the names of the victims so we kind of assumed Aunt Martha and Robin," he said slowly to check he got the names right, "were the victims. And as for Sherlock. You are right. We did discuss your case. But he never used names, he always used the plural and again, there were two of them. We didn't realize there were more."

"Sherlock wouldn't give away our identities without my consent."

"Mother kind of confirmed it to us," Frank said, "When I confronted her about where they were and if she knew anything about what was going on. She just said that Dumbledore knew best and this way Neville was safe because Harry was in the right place- I don't agree with her!" he rushed to reassure Rick as he was getting up ready to yell again. "But you know mother. She's all about the family name and duties and – she and your mother never got along. Always butted heads on proper behavior. You know that. She kept saying how this was best for everyone and not really explaining what happened. Everything we know has been built by bits and pieces we've collected from here and there. I didn't even know there was a _Wizarding Guardian_."

"Their readership is mostly non-magical government officials and foreign wizards in Britain. I think there may be some first-generations – muggles! Really! Keep up with the program people?" Rick snapped at the lost look everyone had given him. "There's also a wizarding section of BBC and I bet you can get Wizarding CNN – television channels! Every piece of electronic information device such as computer, radios, TVs, smartphones or tablets has a special ward that allows you to access the wizarding channels and websites if you are magical or have been given permission to access them. How more first-generations don't reach Hogwarts already knowing everything about the Wizarding world can only be explained by the fact that children don't care for the news," he rolled his eyes. "Or else Hogwarts wouldn't have a single first generation enrolled."

"Enrolment of muggle-borns has decreased significantly over the last decade," Professor Sprout spoke for the first time. "There have been many who have turned down Hogwarts's invitation in favor of other European schools. We've been wondering how they knew about them."

"Google," Rick smirked at Sirius who huffed still not knowing what Google was.

"My only excuse was cowardice," Severus said. "I didn't want to rock the boat. I'd been kept out of Azkaban by Dumbledore and was scared to end up there if I pushed. Like Sirius, I'm sorry but I can't really give you a justification that will redeem me. All I can do is the promise that I will try to do better from now on and hope you can believe me since, well. I broke my last one."

"I don't know if I can."

"I'll wait however long you need to decide."

"Me too," Sirius piped up despite hating that he was agreeing with Snape. He never understood James's friendship with the man but now, considering Remus's reaction, Snape seemed to be the one he'd have to ally himself to if he had any chance of getting his brother and his godchildren back. His godchildren! They were both alive and somewhere here in New York. Yes, he knew he was the fun uncle who disappeared as soon as trouble appeared and he had resented them a bit when James wouldn't join them but he also loved those two.

There was an unfamiliar chirp in the air and they saw Rick take one of those devices everyone they encountered here seemed to have and Holmes seems to be so fond of.

"Gotta go. Body drop."

"What?" Flitwick asked.

"Someone died," Rick said in a matter of fact tone. "I volunteer with the NYPD. I started shadowing them as research for my Nikki Heat series and I liked the work, so I've continued."

"With Kate Becket right?" Alice piped up.

"Uau! Sherlock said you were a fangirl Alice but I had no idea," Rick smirked.

"I'm not a fangirl. I didn't know _you_ were Richard Castle," she scowled.

"Yeah, I'm Beckett's partner. And I have to go."

Charlie stood up, "Er. Mr. Castle. What about Alexis?"

He looked at him and said. "I don't trust them," he pointed at the others with this thumb, "as far as I can throw Hogwarts castle. So there is no way I'm giving you my contact information. But I'll see with her if she wants to see you and let Sherlock know. Okay?"

"Okay!"

xx

A/N: That scene about the leaky faucet is one that came to mind the first time I envisioned Robin as his sister. I was re-watching How I Met Your Mother, the episode where they are all packing for their respective moves and they panic and Robin yells "I don't speak the language!" and later I started thinking of her being Rick's sister and how he and his worrywart personality plus his writer imagination would react to the same thought. She doesn't speak the language.

 **#YestoCastlePISpinOff #CastlePI**


	9. Reflections

**Chapter 9** **\- Reflections**

"I had my eyes set on Stanford. That's in California. But they rejected my early admission so I don't know. I know dad wants me to choose one in New York, and now with Harry, I keep thinking I don't want to miss out on his life any more than I already have but at the same time my motto has always been to challenge myself and – what?" Alexis asked self-conscious as Charlie just watched her smiling.

"You're still a rambler."

"Am not!"

"I don't think you stopped for air since you started."

"Well, and you're still dreaming of playing with dragons. So there you go," she huffed. "Take this," she said handing him the popcorn bowl.

Xx

"Did you see them? How is she? Did you see Harry? That's my goddaughter you're smiling about!"

"Relax. Mr. Castle was there the whole time," Charlie said happily as he walked back into the flat they were all sharing after spending the entire Saturday with the Castles. Severus, Sirius and the two Longbottoms had been waiting for him eagerly. "He was cleaning his gun collection."

"A reference that was probably lost on a pureblood," Severus snorted but Charlie paled.

"Nope, Mr. Castle explained guns to me. In vivid details. He's very good at making you clearly visualize the vivid details! Vividly!" he shuddered flopping down on the couch. "Apparently he got the idea because of some girl named Ashley."

Severus rolled his eyes from his chair as Sirius sat next to Charlie, "So you went to his home?"

"Yes, they have a very nice flat. But you'd never guess a wizarding family lives there. Mr. Castle really likes his muggle technology."

"He always did," Frank remembered fondly. During those eight years trapped in his own body, the Richard Castle novels had been a lifesaver and the fact that that was James, unknowingly helping them, was not lost on him. Nor was the fact that that was probably why they had loved those stories so much. Related to them. Felt they were familiar. Last night he had taken one of the Nikki Heat novels Alice had brought and had realized that even though Severus was the one reading, it had been James's voice he was hearing all along. James's way of speaking. Of telling one of the many stories he heard from his little cousin as he retold his adventures or tried to convince him of some excuse to hide a mischief.

"Do you know how to get there?" Sirius asked catching on to what Severus was asking.

Charlie rolled his eyes at them, "Even if I did, I wouldn't tell you. But no. Mr. Holmes blindfolded me and by the time he took the blindfold out, we were already in the apartment. The same to leave. They really don't trust any of us," he shrugged. "But I get where they are coming from. I saw Harry and he's like little. He's supposed to be Ronnie's age and yet he's smaller than Ginny. And that's counting that according to Alexis he's already been on the treatment to correct the abuse for a couple of months. We had lunch," he smiled at the memory. "And before lunch Harry had to take a bunch of potions to help with digestion because those people starved him so his stomach can't handle normal food or even normal quantities of food without help. According to Alexis, the healers said he'd be doing treatment for a while but they're confident they can correct everything and in the end he should develop normally. Harry's very set on that. He wants to be tall like his dad. He's also skittish. At first he was clearly wary of me, staying there with his dad while he did homework. Mr. Castle has this huge office with a humongous desk and he put a smaller version of his desk next to his for Harry. Alexis said Harry likes doing his homework there better than in his room when his dad is around. But he came around later on. And he clearly adores Detective Beckett."

"Detective who?" Sirius asked and Alice clarified.

"The inspiration for Nikki Heat."

"Wasn't her name Kate?"

"Yes, Detective Kate Beckett," Severus snapped irritated. "Detective is the title. She is a homicide detective."

"Aw, like Auror."

"Yes, like Auror!"

"So, she's Jam- sorry, Rick's girlfriend or something." Sirius didn't know how he felt about that. Truth be told, he had known James and Lilly's marriage had been on the rocks even before the divorce, but even then he was desperate to cling to the security of their Hogwarts' days when everything else was so insecure. James hadn't dated after his divorce. He was too busy being a single parent to two children, then he was in hiding under the Fidelius and then he was deciding he was going to leave them all for America.

That wasn't fair, he knew. James had tried to convince Sirius and Remus, and he now knew, Severus too, to also leave. But how could he? He was an Auror, a member of the Order of the Phoenix and his family was in the thick of the fight. He couldn't just be a coward who fled. He knew he was being harsh. James had other priorities. Like he said. His children came first and he was a single parent, but the truth was, that while he was very intent on working for Muggle and muggle-born rights, the fact that James had left the Order, the literal fight, always advocating they had to trust their Aurors to apprehend criminals and not become vigilantes, had grated on him at the time. He thought that James was now working with the police ironic, but he wasn't going against his belief, he was working with the police, not alone.

"According to Alexis, no, they're in denial despite spending a day handcuffed together."

"What?" Alice asked as the other three just gaped at the boy.

"I didn't understand much. They act like they're an old married couple. And the detective made Mr. Castle put away the guns when she arrived with Harry, so I like her for that."

"Wait, she arrived with Harry! Why was Harry with her?" Sirius asked confused.

"Oh, Alexis said Harry was visiting Jim."

"Who?"

"No idea. Harry called him Grandpa Jim. Apparently, Detective Beckett had been with them. That's why she brought him home."

Xx

"So, I've heard you've been talking to old friends," came a voice from his office door. "The world hasn't flooded yet I notice," she shrugged. "But I am almost packed."

He sighed and got up from his chair where he had been leaning back contemplating life. He sat down on his desk pulling her into an embrace.

"I'm sorry. I overreacted. I'm going to miss you and I panicked."

"I know," she hugged him back. "You've always taken care of me. Even back then, in England. And I think that with all we went through your overprotectiveness magnified and well – we're also a tiny bit guilty of being accommodated. I can do my groceries you know? But I know you'll do them for me, so I don't," she shrugged apologetically.

"Well, I guess that's better than Kate, who's been grocery shopping in my pantry since that time she stayed here," he said dramatically and she chuckled getting out of his embrace.

"And you're still not getting any," he glared at her. "But seriously. I know we worry, about each other. I worry too. About you," she poked him.

"Nothing to worry about here."

"I think there is. I worry she'll hurt you, more than she already has. That she is using you."

"Robin," he sighed in warning.

"No, I want to believe she isn't. That she loves you back. And I actually think she does, after I saw how worried she was when we were getting our memories back, at the bank, how much more involved she's been since Harry arrived. I really do. But then I also remember how she got together with Demming, and that asshole who punched you."

"Tempers had been flying high that day and she thought I was with Gina."

"You'd been there letting her and the whole world know your intentions for two years before Demming. Before you left for the Hamptons and she got together with Dr. Asshole. You've never been shy about your intentions, and I just don't want you to be fooling yourself again. For this just to be friendship for her and you getting hurt again. Worse, the kids getting hurt. Harry is really getting attached and I've seen how Alexis has forgiven her for disappearing after the bank."

He took her hand and assured her, "I'm not fooling myself. We've talked. She just needs some time. I promise."

"And you'll tell me if something happens? If you're sad? You'll be honest? You won't try to hide it like you did this summer?"

"Of co-"

"No, with you there's no of course. You think you have to be all macho and protect us damsels in distress. I want you to Skype me the second you have a problem. Promise?" she looked at him firmly.

"I promise."

"Good," she nodded. "Now, about those idiots you used to call friends."

"What about them?" he asked with a laugh at the face she was making.

"I've been thinking. A lot, about everything, you know. Friendship and all. I had friends over there, who at the time I thought would walk through fire for me and they haven't wondered where I am, but mostly, I haven't felt inclined to go looking for them, and I've wondered why. Why do I feel like Ted, Barney, Marshall and Lily, who I've known for less time, are more important to me? And I realized something."

"What?"

"Normal people make other friends than school friends."

"Uh," he asked confused.

"No, listen to me. In a normal society, you grow up, and maybe you keep in touch with that friend from school who was your best friend, your go to person back then. But even if you do, they're not, your go to person anymore when you are an adult. Because adults make friends with similar interests, goals. And those are the friends that when you're old you look back and say, boy, he's been my person for decades. And maybe you met them in college or at work, but rarely when you're _eleven_. Because when you're eleven being friends is more a question of practicality. Your friend was that person who was there. Especially at Hogwarts, he was usually your roommate. And most importantly, when you're eleven you still don't know who you are, who you'll end up being. What will be important to you. So your best friend when you're eleven may end up being someone you have nothing in common when you're thirty. Take you and Sirius for example. You wanted a family he wanted the action, and don't say you look for the action now. You get into action, but what you're looking for is the mystery."

He nodded. She was right. His involvement with the NYPD was more about solving the puzzle than the take down. He was rarely involved in the actual take down.

"Sirius loved the physical fight."

"Where are you getting at?"

"Let me finish my thought process," she said as she kept pacing in front of him and gesticulating her explanation. "Like I said, in a normal society, once you've left school you go off to college or work, where you start meeting people in a more select environment that is closer to what you are interested in, so the people you meet have more in common with your interests as an adult. So yeah, you may keep in touch with your school friends, but cases where they are still the main people in your life are rare."

He nodded thinking of Kate and Maddie. They were still good friends and according to Kate they had been attached at the hip in school but if someone asked him who was Kate's best friend now he would immediately name Lanie or himself.

"But in the British Wizarding World, because they are so closed off and the society is small, that doesn't happen. You have adults who have been out of school for decades still maintaining school rivalries because they were Gryffindors or Slytherins. The friendships from school end up being the same throughout your life."

"Okay. I think I get what you're trying to say. That, I wouldn't have been as close to Sirius, Remus and Severus as we were in a normal society because we all would have made other friends that we had more in common with."

"Yes," she nodded. "And I think that's where the resentment ends up coming from. Because that insulated society where you never really leave Hogwarts ends up promoting an expectation for things to never change, except they do. In your case, you became a parent and couldn't go out in adventures anymore and instead of understanding that, they resented you and the cause for your 'estrangement', but didn't say anything, because, what are you going to do? What other friends do you have?"

"What does that have to do with them betraying me?" he asked confused.

"Because I don't think they did," she shrugged. "Betray you. At least not consciously. I think they screwed up. That when they promised to take care of the kids they thought they wouldn't have to, so why not promise? And you also expected more than you should have. You knew they weren't children people, and yet you expected them to take care of them, maybe even raise them, just because you were school friends."

"So you want me to just forgive them and be BFFs again?" he snorted affronted.

"No, maybe forgive them and accept you'll never be BFFs again. Your BFFs have changed. But maybe you can still be old friends who meet up every now and then. Just think about it. Kay?"

"Kay," he agreed annoyed.

Xx

A few days later he watched as his mother and children walked ahead while he and Kate lingered behind at the Airport's parking lot. Kate bumped her shoulder into his.

"Stop brooding, she'll be fine."

"Yeah," he said sadly. They had all come to see Robin off and her friends had just separated from them to go to Marshall's car that was parked farther away. He had thought that maybe her departure would be delayed a bit by bureaucracy, seeing as just a while ago his lawyers were dealing with making sure their identities were all legal and recognized as well as their nationalities. Eight years before, when they were found, they were thought to be all American, but just in case they had to go through the nationalization process. He wasn't sure exactly what every step consisted off now, he paid very good lawyers quite a good sum not to have to worry, but they had to basically reaffirm their status as Americans and link their previous identities to the new one, so everything would be legal, especially Harry's and Alexis's guardianships. But, unfortunately for him, apparently the American government was being very solicitous and everything went smoothly and quickly. Of course he knew why, he made a ridiculous amount of money and therefore paid a ridiculous amount of taxes which the US would rather stay here than go to another country, add the fact that Harry was the Boy Who Lived, and they very much liked having the Boy Who Lived not only having American citizenship but being an American resident, and the government was ready to help them any way they could. Which, in turn, meant Robin had no problem renewing her passport and getting the proper paperwork for Japan. The one time Rick wanted the obstacles of bureaucracy.

"So, er," he started. "I was thinking."

"That's a dangerous endeavor. Should we alert the authorities?"

"Ha, ha," he said drily placing his hands in his pockets. Why was he so nervous? He felt like a teenager asking a date to prom. Seriously! He was an adult! A best-selling writer. He'd been married before. Had relationships! He charmed the pants off his fans on a regular basis! "As I was saying, Ryan and Jenny's wedding is this weekend and I was thinking, if you want to. I can always ask Alexis, I mean, I was thinking of asking her to come with me, or mother, when I RSVP'd plus one. I didn't want to go alone, but I don't know. If you don't mind, we could avoid the stigma of the singles table, just as friends. No pressure. If you don't want to I under-"

"Okay," she said simply interrupting his rambling and he smiled brilliantly.

"Okay?"

"Yes."

"Okay," he nodded as they continued towards the car.

Xx

"How are your scorned women going?" he heard his mother ask as he closed the door behind him. He came slowly forward taking his coat off and saying:

"Hello Frank, Alice," with a pointed look at his mother and the guests all very comfortable in the couch.

"Hello Ja- Richard."

"You can call me Rick. Only mother, Gina and sometimes Sherlock call me Richard. Most of the time I hear Richard I look around to see what I did wrong," he flopped himself on an armchair.

"Gina's his publisher," Martha explained. "Frank and Alice wanted to see me. We've been having quite a nice chat. And Harry is upstairs showing Neville how to play one of the million videogames you bought him."

Rick looked unrepentant. Yes, he knew he had gone a little overboard and spoiled Harry quite a bit but he had eight years to make up for. He wasn't going to keep this up. He talked to Harry, and he understood that the reason he was getting so much stuff now was because they were starting from scratch.

"Mhum," he mumbled nodding, not making things easier.

"We've been talking to Aunt Martha," Alice smiled at Martha. "And we wanted to talk to you too. Sherlock may have let slip that you are not sure where we stand."

"Of course he did," Rick huffed.

"He's just trying to help," Frank admonished him. "And he didn't give up your address either. He brought us here under the cloak of secrecy. I wouldn't know where we are. He's out now. Said he needed to stop by the precinct to let them know he's back."

Rick knew that. Honestly he'd known that as soon as he saw the two sitting there. Besides, he had added some very interesting wards after getting his memories back that wouldn't allow someone not keyed into the wards to hurt anyone inside the wards. Which was why he had let Charlie Weasley into their home. He much preferred Alexis only meet him where he knew she couldn't be harmed. He knew he was being paranoid but considering what happened, who could blame him?

Charley Weasley seemed to be doing wonders for Alexis to forget Ashley. She had lent him an old laptop she wasn't using anymore so they could Skype. She had spent a good part of their visit showing him how to use the computer and setting up an account for him. He had to give the kid that. He was a fast learner. And motivated. Apparently the reason he was only applying to the Dragon reserve in Romania was because other dragon reserves didn't even consider people from Hogwarts. And even at the Romanian one, not knowing your way around technology could be a big hindrance. He'd heard Alexis tutoring Charlie and telling him where he could go to learn on more than one occasion. And she had been on him to let them meet face to face again. He was surprised Charlie wasn't here. His surprise didn't last long as a familiar laughter drifted down the stairs and he snapped his head to the stairs.

"Is Charlie here?"

"He found out we were coming and asked to come too," Alice shrugged.

"And they're upstairs? _Alone_?"

"Oh Richard, stop being a party pooper and trust your daughter," Martha huffed.

" _He_ r I trust," he glared upstairs.

"Anyway," Frank tried to bring Rick back to the subject at hand. "We wanted to talk to you. For several reasons."

"Okay, talk," he said simply.

"First we wanted to thank you," Alice said.

"For what?"

"Well, sending Sherlock for one," Alice said. "But for being you."

"For being me?" he asked confused.

"Yes, Richard Castle, writer," Frank said and at Rick's lost look he continued. "I can't begin to imagine how you must have felt all these years not knowing who you were, just like you can't begin to imagine how we felt. Prisoners in our own bodies. Only able to talk to each other. I'll tell you, sometimes, the sheer boredom was enough to drive you crazy."

"Neville and Severus were the only ones who talked to us, actually talked to us," Alice continued. "Told us what was going on in our world, in their lives. And Severus, I don't know if you know this but he likes muggle literature."

"No he doesn't," Rick said simply, because he remembered all the times he had tried to convince Severus to read a book or another. Watch a movie. Severus may have become his friend, and he knew that under the acerbic façade there was someone worth knowing, kind of like Sherlock, but Severus also had a deep resentment of his father which in turn led to a resentment of things that reminded him of his father.

Alice smiled, "People change. When he thought you died, that he had lost you, he started reading books you had recommended. Raved about, to feel closer to you. In the end he ended up developing a passion for mystery novels, and one day he found the Richard Castle books."

"Which have my picture-"

"He bought the paperbacks," Frank stopped him raising a hand. He had stopped at a bookstore so he could continue buying the older books that had been read to them and had indeed been faced with the fact that the hardcovers had Rick's photo on them. If only Severus had bought one of those, or had gone to the store himself instead of leaving a standing order that arrived by mail. So many little things that could have happened and would have saved them all so long ago. But all they could do now was move forward. "Severus started reading to us. One day he found your book by accident. A package a neighbor had ordered was delivered by accident to his house and by the time he realized he wasn't the addressee he had already opened the package and saw James Patterson recommended your book, so he read a bit."

Rick groaned loudly, "He'll be so smug."

"Richard and James have a bit of a friendly rivalry going on. They play poker on a regular basis," Martha explained.  
"Really?" Alice asked excited.

"Yes, Black Pawn encourages established writers to take new ones under their wings. So when I was starting out Mike Connelly was my mentor and he introduced me to the poker circuit."

"Favorite writers aside," Frank tried to stop Alice from changing the subject. "Severus started reading your books to us. They soon became a favorite of his and in consequence ours. And being able to get lost in that world Richard, being able to forget our situation for a while when Severus was reading to us and on other occasions as we imagined what would come next for Nikki and Rook, that helped us so much, to be able to just disconnect from our reality, from all that hurt for just a while, sometimes allowed us to breathe."

"You were taking care of us even without knowing," Alice smiled. "You've always been a nurturer. Since our school days. You were the one in your little group making sure everyone was okay. People didn't realize, didn't give you enough credit because you were such a jokester, always with a smartass remark on the tip of your tongue. But you were never happier than when you were taking care of the people you loved and we wanted to let you know that you did take care of us, without knowing."

Now what was he going to say to that? Damn them, getting him all choked up like that. "I'm glad I could help. Writing those books helped me a lot."

Frank and Alice smiled at him, "The second thing we want to discuss is, well this situation. We are not okay with what happened. And yes, we were living with mother, but we also didn't know the extent of what was going on."

"This isn't confusing just for you," Alice continued for Frank. "All this time we thought only Dumbledore was involved in what happened to us. We theorized that maybe Mad-eye Moody might have done his bidding because he had been at our house. But we don't know. Maybe Dumbledore lied to him. We most assuredly hadn't known Augusta was involved in what happened to you."

"Like I told you that day," Frank said grimacing. "We weren't able to get much from mother. She kept insisting that if Dumbledore said they needed to do this to defeat Voldemort then that's what needed to be done."

"Except considering the CIA and the British Secret Service managed to locate and dispose of Voldemort in _two weeks_ after they had tested Harry maybe what needed to be done was share information instead of letting one man control all the information and do his bidding without questions," Rick said annoyed.

"Exactly," Frank said simply. "Now there are more people who know. The Wizengamot had classified everything but they can't classify what we, the professors, Arthur learned. Arthur has already sent a lengthy letter home explaining everything to his wife and if there is someone you can trust to get the word out that's Molly Weasley. I am not defending our world. We have to change, soon. This willful blindness cannot continue but I am trying to explain that no one other than those directly involved set out to hurt any of you."

"And yet they don't mind Harry was hurt," Rick huffed.

"I have to agree with Richard there," Martha said. "The news we get here is that the British Wizarding World was demanding we return Dumbledore and Charlus. Regardless of how they hurt Harry."

"But that's our point. They are demanding their return because all they have is some half-assed explanation. They know Harry was abused and that the Americans arrested Dumbledore and Potter. They don't know why they were arrested. What the connection between those two events are. All most have is conjecture. Suppositions. We had more access because we knew you Aunt Martha, knew you wouldn't have just left Harry with Lily's sister and even we only had a half theory. Most people didn't have the benefit of having even that information. To most of them Harry isn't a real child. Just a symbol. The Boy Who Lived. And the demands being made the decisions being taken, like staying with Augusta, were taken with that information," Alice explained.

"So what now?" Rick asked.

"Now we work to make sure this doesn't happen again," Frank said. "To educate our society."

"I don't owe them anything," Rick said through gritted teeth. "They washed their hands of me with the Wizengamot vote."

"I know you don't," Frank replied. "And I don't expect you to do anything. I just expect you to understand why we will. You could have done quite the damage to our economy by simply closing all Potter companies and properties. Pulling all the money out. You clearly don't need that money," Frank waved a hand at his surroundings. "And yet you didn't. You sold the companies so the people would still have their jobs. You sold the properties so they are still in the British Wizarding market and I talked to Sherlock and I know that his brother helped you work a staggered withdrawal to move the money to mug- non-magical banks so the removal of such an amount will not cripple our economy. You are understandably angry. But you still care."

"Of course I do. I'm not a monster!"

"That's all we want from you Richard," Alice said. "To be able to be a part of your life. Of the children's life, Aunt Martha, Robin, even though she is a little far away now. Just that, nothing more."

Rick nodded. He needed to think. He needed to decide if he could open up to them once again. Could trust them. He decided to add his two cents though.

"Don't hurt him."

"Who?" Frank asked.

"Sherlock," he explained. "He likes to pretend he doesn't care but in reality he does, a lot. If he lets you in, you have an immense power to hurt him. Don't."

"We won't," Frank nodded. Sherlock had been a lifesaver. Someone who had no expectations of them. Everyone else was expecting the old Frank and Alice to just take up where they had left. But they couldn't. They had changed.

"He's family. He saved us. He could have just walked past us, ignored us. Instead he helped us," Rick said firmly and with conviction.

"Funny, he says the same of you," Alice smiled remembering what Sherlock had told Severus, Remus and Sirius the day of Rick's first visit when he had arrived and the three had jumped his throat about not letting them know the Rick he talked so much about was James. He had not minced words.

 _"Richard saved my life. He literally saved my life. By my parents and brother's method I'd be dead of an overdose in some ditch long ago. But Richard somehow realized what I needed was a challenge and he gave me that challenge, and when that challenge wasn't enough he made one up for me and then he encouraged me to work with the police. I have a life, I have challenges, I have a career and I am respected in my field today, and that's all thanks to him. He didn't need to borrow trouble, he had more than enough of his own at the time. And yet he did. He gave me a family who didn't care that I am not normal, that I don't fit society's mold of good and proper behavior, a place where I am always welcome, unconditionally." Sherlock said passionately. "And you had that too. All three of you. And I don't understand how you could just throw it away like that."_

The three men had not known how to respond and Alice had noticed they had been pensive about the situation later.

Xx

A/N: Thank you for reviewing!

 **#YestoCastlePISpinOff #CastlePI**


	10. Moving forward

**Chapter 10 – Moving forward**

"You know, I think you're right," Rick said as he gently swayed her to the rhythm of the music.

"About what?" she asked with her head resting on his shoulder. Completely comfortable and at peace. From where she was she could see Jenny and Ryan dancing, so happy. She wanted that for herself.

"Second time will be the charm," he said and she could feel him rest his cheeck on the crown of her head.

"Really?"

"Yes, she's going to be my second and done," he said with conviction.

She pulled her head up and looked into his eyes. She had no idea what possessed her. She'd blame the wine she had, or the atmosphere, the giddiness of seeing two dear friends joining their lives forever. But the truth was, she knew this had been coming for a while and all the talk of marriage of the last case had her thinking a lot. About what she wanted. Yes, she had wanted to be better, whole, for him. But he was also right, they were both messes, and when wouldn't they be? When she arrested her mother's murderer? Would that fix her? If the past few months of helping him deal with the problems from getting his memories back taught her anything, it was that there was never a perfect moment in life. Things were just going to keep happening. They kept going forward. Cases kept coming. Maybe she'd get a new clue maybe not.

She had been much more involved in his life, almost like a girlfriend. She was always over at his place. She helped with Harry, who sometimes still had trouble with the loud family he had gained and navigated towards her, because she too had been intimidated by the Castle's effervescent energy at one time, and sometimes still was. But Harry also showed her she should take the leap. The little boy had so many more reasons to be closed off than she did and yet he didn't shy away. He jumped straight in. He took things as they came, and yes, maybe sometimes they overwhelmed him, but he still faced them and so should she. She should take that last step. So she leaned forward and her lips touched his and she could sense his surprise.

"Kate," he whispered and she smiled because he always reserved Kate for the more intimate moments and she decided she would do the same. Up until now she had used Rick as a defense, when she wanted to push him away, but no more.

"Rick," she whispered capturing his lips again.

"What about your walls?"

"I don't like them."

"Me neither," he smiled at her and captured her lips in turn.

That day they made a giant leap forward. That day she knew she had moved towards being his second and done.

Xx

Rick opened the door and was surprised to be faced with his sister, saddled with all the bags she had left with.

"Not a word," she said.

"Kay," he said gently lowering the strap of her carryon from her shoulder and pulling her into an embrace.

"I need a place to stay. Just for a while."

"You know you can always come back here."

"I mean a real while, not mother's just a while."

He smiled because he knew she was serious. Robin liked her independence too much to not get her own place soon. Meanwhile, he'd pamper her. And tell her the good news.

"Kate kissed me," he smiled giddily into the embrace.

Robin looked at him surprised.

"And?" she asked excited.

"And that," he answered. "At Ryan's wedding. We danced, we kissed, then we danced some more, then we kissed. Then we talked and we're dating."

"And?"

"I just told you."

"Seriously, no more and? How old are you?"

"We're taking things slow."

"I'll say."

"Can you just be happy for me?" he huffed.

"I am," she smiled hugging him back. "Should mother and I give her the talk?"

"No," he said back firmly.

Xx

"You think I shouldn't trust him?" he asked from the passenger seat. They had arrived at the garage Mr. Smith had told him to be a lot earlier. They wanted to see if they could catch a license plate, anything that would help them identify him. Mr. Smith had said he had information on Weldon's case and Rick wanted to believe he did. This case couldn't be wrapped up fast enough. He and Kate had been doing so well. He had taken her out on dates, just the two of them, without the rest of the family and she had continued to stop by for movie night, laser tag night and pretty much any family activity, she had even stopped on Christmas day after her shift. He knew Harry's puppy eyes were what she couldn't resist but who was he to complain? And on New Year's Eve they kissed at midnight, which in his opinion was a great way to start the year. He had been so happy she said yes to coming to his New Year's Eve party that he hadn't batted an eye when Sherlock said the Longbottoms were coming with him. Normally, without any cloak and dagger. Alice had squealed a bit at meeting the inspiration to Nikki Heat before she and Frank were engaged in discussions with El and Peter about the options for Neville's schooling. And then this case happened. And they'd been at odds because he didn't want to believe Bob was a killer.

"We don't know who he is," she told him in a quiet voice.

"Not Smith, Weldon," he clarified. "You think I'm deluding myself and maybe I am. Wouldn't be the first time," he snorted self-deprecatorily. "Maybe I'm just a bad judge of character."

"No you're not," she said firmly and took his face into her hand making him look at her. "You trust people. You have every reason not to. Not just after you got your memories back but before. How could you know the person you were talking to wasn't who had harmed you? And yet you never let that jade you. Stop seeing the good in people first. That's a quality Rick, that's not a flaw. And yes, you'll encounter a bad apple here and there, but don't let that change you, because you're right, most people deserve the benefit of the doubt that you give them. I wish I was more like that," she smiled at him.

He smiled gently at her, "I've known him since before I published in a 'Hail of Bullets,'" he explained. "He is a fan of my books, yes. But before he ran for mayor, before I was published, when he was a city councilor he came looking for us. He had read about our case in the paper and he had wanted to know what was being done to help us. I wasn't getting much anywhere in terms of jobs. I was getting an odd job here and there but he helped me get the job as a bartender at the Old Haunt. He may not be one of my closest friends. Just a poker buddy, like you call them, but I saw then that he cared. For every one of his constituents. For the little guy. He wants to make all our lives better. And that's why I trust him Kate. And maybe he played me, he is a politician after all, but I want to believe he didn't. Because you're right. Just because some people hurt us, we shouldn't close ourselves out to others," he finished taking her hand and she smiled at him.

The moment was broken by a chime on her phone indicating they should get ready. Rick was going to meet Smith alone. They didn't want him knowing Kate knew about him but she would stay hidden in the car and hopefully get images of him with the camera she brought.

Xx

"Can't you try facial recognition," Frank asked. "Yeah, I know all about that now," he said proudly.

"Wow, Sherlock lets you two work one case with him and now you're experts," Rick snorted over his beer and Kate slapped his arm. Sherlock had arrived with the Longbottoms in tow after they had apparently helped him on a case for the NYPD. They had ordered pizza and Harry and Neville had gone to Harry's room to play. Alexis hadn't been home yet. She was at yet another internship. Rick was just surprised Charlie hadn't been with them, but Frank and Alice explained Charlie had to go back to England before Christmas with his father and while Arthur had come back to continue working Charlie had to go back to school or he'd have to redo his last year.

Rick had been surprised by this because he had clearly heard Alexis Skyping with Charlie, which was when Sherlock explained he had acquired a smartphone for Charlie with extra batteries the boy would have to Apparate somewhere to charge on weekends so he could connect from Hogwarts. And Charlie had been pleasantly surprised to find out the myth of electronics not working at Hogwarts was just that, a myth – which had surprised only the British wizards, after all, if magic interfered with electronics there would be entire areas of London where they wouldn't work - and while Hogsmeade might be all magical there were cell towers close enough for Charlie to still be able to connect himself to the internet.

Apparently, the others were at full steam. While Hogwarts was having to content with substitute teachers for the Heads of House positions, they were learning a lot and were building quite the plan for revamping Wizarding Education in England. Rick was pleasantly surprised with that. According to Frank and Alice, Sirius was taking quite the leadership role and if they kept at this they'd be able to have the plan fully formed before the end of the month, allowing for most of them to go back to England to present the plan. Frank and Alice where entertaining the idea of remaining here. Being a liaison between the Americans and the British and when Sherlock had been busy with a case, they had accidentally, on purpose, butted in.

"I was an Auror, what did you expect? For me to stay at home twiddling my thumbs?" Frank had been unapologetic.

They had arrived when Rick and Kate had been in his office discussing the mysterious Mr. Smith and his contributions to clearing Weldon. Moreover, who could have interest in not letting Weldon move up. They always knew the dragon was powerful, but they had also always assumed he was in the New York sphere. They were reconsidering their notions now.

While Neville had rapidly gone up the stairs in search of Harry when Sherlock opened the door, Sherlock, being Sherlock, had no qualms in just walking straight to the office and opening the door without knocking and therefore catching Rick and Kate red-handed. He had not been impressed at being left out of the loop and at first, Kate had not been comfortable with the fact that Frank and Alice were there. Relaxing only after both of them swore vows of secrecy, which being recognition magic could still be done despite their magic dampening bracelets (which according to Frank had done more to encourage the rest of the delegation to understand non-magical things than any speech could have done, since they were having to basically live non-magically).

After dinner, after the boys had gone up again and his mother had excused herself to some event she had, and since Robin had moved in with Ted, which Rick thought could only end badly, only the five of them had remained at the table and of course, the subject of Mr. Smith arose again.

"We are flying under the radar," Kate explained. "If we run a match for Mr. Smith the dragon may be alerted and then the deal Rick has with Smith goes out the window."

"Still, he is someone Montgomery trusted with the lives of his children," Sherlock said. "He wasn't a passing acquaintance. Maybe Evelyn Montgomery would know more."

"Yeah, maybe," Kate said uncomfortable and Rick squeezed her hand. He knew she had avoided talking to Evelyn. She thought the woman might blame her. Rick had contacted Evelyn a few times, to make sure everything was okay with them. His lawyers helping her square everything with Roy's pension and the royalties he received from the Nikki Heat books. They all did. Rick had insisted that the major inspirations for his books should be compensated, after all, they put up with him and he made a ton of money from his books. Even separating their shares, he still made a ton of money. They had all been very reticent at first, so he had instead created a fund for each where Black Pawn deposited their share, to do as they pleased. Rick knew Roy had been keeping that fund as a college fund for his children. And he thought Kevin might be doing the same. Kate and Espo he wasn't sure, but he knew they hadn't touched the fund much.

But other than that he hadn't talked to the woman in months, preoccupied with his own problems. But maybe they should make contact now. He would wait for Kate's cue though.

Xx

"Excuse me," he heard the British accent from behind him and turned around on his chair by Beckett's desk to see Severus Snape looking quite uncomfortable in the middle of the 12th police precinct. He raised an eyebrow in question. "We're leaving soon. Myself and the other teachers. Sirius, Frank, Alice and Arthur will remain, but we have been away from the school for too long and we need to be there for the final stretch of OWLS and NEWTS. I wanted to talk to you before we left."

The thought of denying the request did cross his mind but a quick glance at Beckett who was talking to Gates changed his mind. He should hear Severus out and he had been thinking a lot about them lately.

"Sure," he got up. "Let's go to the break room. We'll have more privacy there."

In the last few weeks he had been thinking about his friends a lot. Especially after they had a case involving the CIA where he met an old source of his, Sofia Turner. When he had first started writing his first Derek Storm novel he had asked his publisher if there was a chance they could get him in contact with someone in the CIA so he could learn more about procedures and such. He took pride on a good research. Even his first books had quite the research thanks to his work as a bartender. At the time, the Old Haunt attracted all kinds of people, and he had met a lot of his sources, in both sides of the law, while serving them drinks. But he had never met a spy. And he knew he wouldn't get far, but he thought maybe someone could give him an overview. He had been surprised when Black Pawn had managed to secure him several interviews and the shadowing of at least one agent. He knew now, thanks to Sophia, that the CIA had been interested in knowing more about him and his complete lack of memory – apparently, they liked to keep appraised of suspiciously weird cases - so they had humored him to get closer to him.

He started shadowing Sophia not long after Kyra had broken up with him. Sophia was sophisticated, intriguing and older than him. All things that intrigued him and his injured heart enough to make him interested in a tryst. They hadn't had anything serious, he was still hurt by Kyra and she – well turns out she wasn't a good person. He had shadowed her for six months. The last time he'd seen her had been just little over a year before meeting Kate for the first time.

Sophia ended up being a traitor, and he had learned a lot from this case.

He had learned Kate was the jealous type. She had been in a tizzy since she first realized he had been with Sophia. Very possessive, and aside from an awkward situation at the morgue with Alexis, he had very much enjoyed how Kate seemed to always place herself between himself and Sophia and, despite being in public, went off character and seemed to be landing quite the possessive touches.

 _"_ _She was never like you. I never followed her on the field. You and me, we're partners. We're best friends and we love each other. Yes, Sophia and I had sex, but she never meant anything to me and I clearly never meant anything to her,"_ he had assured Kate nevertheless.

He had learned the CIA kept an uncomfortable close eye on him because of first his lack of memory and now his status as the father of the Boy Who Lived. Especially since how Harry had lived had yet to be determined. Probably never would be.

And he had learned he had a half-sister. Oh, yes. That had been fun. As Sophia was about to blow his brains off, someone shot her instead. Her former partner. He wasn't alone. Apparently, after being ran off the super-secret CIA base he had contacted a former MI-6 agent he had worked with and had used him being in danger as a reason for her to trust him over Sophia and help him.

Turns out, that while the CIA may not have known who he was before, they had always known who Jackson Potter was. According to his newly found sister, Haley Shipton, he was MI-6, sometimes lent to the CIA for black ops. So when he turned out to be Jackson's son, they connected the dots. Jackson, apparently had not been completely forthcoming with his mother and had had quite the relationship with Haley's mother, in between him and Robin.

When all the mess about him and Harry had come out on the news, Haley had wanted to meet him but she hadn't known how to approach. Their father had confessed to her about her half-siblings quite some years back, after his fake death, when he asked her to keep an eye on Harry. Haley, who had gone to Beauxbatons, because her mother might be non-magical but was no dummy and Jackson had explained Hogwarts to her, tried to keep an eye on Harry, had even managed to be inside the house, but like the others, she had been fooled by the wards.

She had come to the US a few months ago and had been trying to concoct a good way to approach them when Agent Danberg called her. She had also squashed his hopes of actually seeing Jackson.

"He's not the fatherly type, and the work he does, let's just say that he is actually being a good parent by keeping his distance. He only contacted me after I joined MI-6."

"But you're not, MI-6 anymore?"

"No," she shook her head. "I'm looking for a different life. And all those times of watching Harry and wondering where Sarah – sorry Robin was. I wondered if I could have a different life," she shrugged. "Jackson didn't have a clue where they went. He tried his brother, but, they never got along and Jackson didn't have any real pull and Charlus just refused to say where any of them were. I read in the papers they had been saying Harry was with your mother. We didn't have even that information. So he asked me to look. He didn't want to draw attention to him looking. I never found your mother and sister but I did eventually find Harry in the Surrey school system. I'm sorry the wards fooled me."

"They seemed to have fooled a lot of people," he had nodded. "I'm a famous writer," he added and she smirked.

"Not as famous as you might think," she snorted. "And I was a spy. Last thing I did to unwind was read about spies. Sure, I'd heard about Richard Castle, but I've never actually read one of your books. Oh, don't look so scandalized. I'm pretty sure the same was true for him. Believe me, had we known where you were this whole mess would have been solved much sooner."

He hadn't known what to think of her, and Lanie did run a DNA test to verify her story, but after the test he had taken her to meet the rest of the family. He only realized too late what he'd done when he and Harry had been left there staring alone and unprotected against five women. He gulped and hoped he and Kate had all boys one day. They were severely outnumbered.

All in all, at the end of this case he was once again thinking of how he could have trusted someone and been so wrong. Kate had once again affirmed that wasn't a flaw, and he had been right about Weldon, but he was thinking that his sister might be right too, and he was being too harsh. Demanding too much.

He closed the door to the breakroom and waited for Severus to begin.

"I wanted to apologize, again. Like I said. I have no excuse. I wish I had done more."

"Frank and Alice told me what you did for them," Rick said simply. "I'm not going to lie to you Severus. The friendship we had before. That trust that had been built from a clandestine friendship isn't there anymore. I can't trust you that way again and I am still angry. But I've also been hearing of what you've been doing. How hard you've been working to include the non-magical curriculum and restructure education. Something that back then you abhorred. How many times didn't we argue over that?" he smiled fondly reminiscing. "That you can put your anger at your father aside for this, makes me think you can change. We all can. I've certainly changed. I've changed in the last eight years. I've changed a lot in the last four, since meeting Kate. And I've seen her change. I think we need to accept that. That we may never have what we had before."

"Maybe we can have something new. I'll be back during the summer. There are classes that the teachers will be taking. Maybe we could meet. Have a pint. No strings attached."

"Maybe we could. Do you have a pen? I'll give you my number," Rick asked.

"I have a smartphone," Severus pulled out a brand new phone. "We all had to get one. We all have email now."

"See, the old Severus would be cringing at that not smiling," he said taking the phone to add his information.

"I have to admit I've become quite fond of the Internet. Did you know I can access potion journals from all over the world right there?"

"And there's the old Severus," Rick laughed.

"Did Frank and Alice tell you about how I read your books?" Severus asked cautiously and Rick nodded. "I feel so stupid now. Not realizing you were the writer all along. I liked them so much. They felt familiar. Now I know why. If only I had realized you were the writer, I would have done something. I hope you can believe me."

"You know what Severus," Rick said handing him back his phone. "There are so many if onlys in this story that I think we're better off looking forward. And like Frank and Alice said, making sure this doesn't happen again. That someone doesn't have the power Dumbledore had to commit so many crimes with such ease."

"I'm working on that," Severus said firmly.

"I know," Rick nodded.

Xx

After talking with Severus and receiving a notice that Dumbledore's trial had been set and he'd have to testify, Rick had decided to go talk to Charlus Potter. He had asked Robin and his mother but his mother had declined, saying she wasn't interested in anything Charlus had to say.

So, he and Robin had gone to Sing Sing, a place he had never wanted his sister to set foot into, and had waited for Charlus to join them in the visitation room. He didn't know what he had been expecting. Maybe the arrogant man he was used to. Justifying his actions as he had always done. What he hadn't expected was an apology.

"I've treated both of you as properties. No, sorry, I've treated all of you as properties. Pawns to be placed at the most convenient location. Nothing I'll ever do will be enough to make up for that. For failing as your father and as your Head of House," he had smiled grimly as Robin and Rick could only gape at him at a loss for words. "The Potter Head of House is supposed to protect his family and I didn't. When you turned twenty-five Ja- sorry, Richard, you abdicated in my favor."

"That was the custom," Rick mumbled. Back when the House of Potter was still the House of Peverell, Ignotus Peverell had established that when reaching the age of twenty-five, the youngest firstborn of the direct line became the Head of House to ensure the line didn't become stagnant, as witches and wizards could live to 200. If the Head of House didn't have direct heirs, then the heir would come from one of his siblings, which was why Charlus wanted his apparent heir to have Potter blood. If he had adopted the line would not have recognized his heir and Jackson's firstborn would have been the heir, which was the case here. But despite Ignotus Peverell's best intentions, in the last few generations, the habit had become for the current heir to always abdicate in favor of the already established Head of House and at the time he had seen no harm in continuing the tradition.

"I know. But had you abdicated today, the magic would not accept me as the continuing Head of House because I broke the first law of this house. I didn't protect our family," he said simply. "Yes, being arrested made the magic strip me of my title and hand you the title, but I've had time to realize that had I needed any of the strong family magic during these eight years, I would have lost the title as the magic assessed me."

"So that's why you're sorry?" Robin asked hurt. "Because you lost your precious title."

"No," he shook his head sadly. "That is just a statement of my realization of how much I have failed. And an apology, that I hope won't completely fall on deaf ears. And a statement, that I know now, the Head of House is in good hands. Because, unlike me, you understand what family really means."

Rick looked at him with a closed expression. "I've signed a proxy for Mycroft Holmes to vote with my seat. If you expect me to vote, you're wrong."

"I've never heard of Mycroft Holmes."

"He's a non-magical," Robin explained and Charlus looked surprised.

"How can he-"

"There's a loophole," Rick smirked. "There is nothing saying a Wizengamot seat needs to be held by a Wizard or Witch, just that the person needs to be aware of the Wizarding World. I hear the Wizengamot was not happy when he first showed up. Granted, apparently they railed at mother, they hadn't known I was alive at the time."

Charlus nodded, "I trust you know best," and Rick's jaw fell. Had the man suffered a personality transplant? He didn't realize he had asked out loud until Charlus laughed.

"No, I've been locked up here with no access to magic and having to deal with criminals of all sorts. Let's just say I've had time to put my actions into perspective," he swallowed. "I've tried to convince Albus to take the deal but he is still adamant that all he did is forgivable because he was acting for the greater good. To be honest, I've come to realize, that I don't think Albus is all there anymore."

"You mean he is going for the insanity defense," Robin deadpanned.

"No, his lawyer tried to convince him to try, but no. He really thinks what he did, what we both did is justifiable. And to tell you the truth, so did I, when I was in power, just pulling the strings and not seeing the consequences."

They hadn't forgiven Charlus and they probably would never go visit him again, but talking to him had done Rick some good. Hearing him admit he had wronged them long before this all started.

Talking to Charlus and Severus. Learning about Sophia, had made him realize he wanted to talk to Remus one more time before the man left. Before they parted ways for good, because Robin had been right and he shouldn't have expected or even asked what he asked of Remus, but Remus shouldn't have accepted either. Let him think he had things covered. He raised his hand when he saw Remus enter the coffee shop he had told him to meet at and was glad he was alone. He'd have to talk to Sirius at some point but, like he had been able to talk to Severus alone, he wanted to have this talk just the two of them.

Remus approached and Rick noticed he was better dressed than last time. He had noticed the same in Severus. The first time he had seen them all, despite wearing non-magical clothes, they had all been mismatched, outdated. Now Remus was using the proper fashion for the year and was well dressed. He had also managed to text Rick back. Rick could see they were making progress even in the little things.

"I didn't expect you to contact me again, I confess," Remus said taking a seat in front of Rick.

"Me neither. But I needed to clear the air. I've been doing a lot of thinking lately. A lot."

He saw Remus nod and took a deep breath before starting, "They are my children. They are a part of me. And if you can't accept that then we can't be friends anymore, but that doesn't change the years we did have. I've thought a lot about all of this and my sister is right. Drifting apart doesn't make either one of us bad, but insisting on what isn't there anymore only makes us hurt each other. We grew up Remus. We're not little kids anymore, and that we grew up with different interests is normal. Maybe we can be acquaintances. Maybe we'll see each other every now and then. But pack, like we were in our school days, we aren't pack anymore. We hadn't been for some time and if we'd realized that, things might have gone differently."

"I agree," at Rick's look Remus smirked. "Don't look so shocked. You are not the only one who's been thinking about this. I didn't set out to hurt Harry, and I trusted Dumbledore, but the truth is, you are right. I didn't spare Harry a second thought after Dumbledore asked me not execute the will. I just went on with my life. I thought I had lost all my friends. One to Voldemort and the other two to death and I set off to rebuild my life without remembering there was someone else who might have benefited from my presence. Because, while I was happy you were happy being a parent, I also couldn't understand why they had to take so much of your time. Maybe one day I will, if I became a parent myself. But back then, and I guess, even now, I don't. I see how parents let their life revolve around their children and I don't understand why. I didn't mean any of you harm Richard, but I harmed you nonetheless and for that I am sorry. But I've finally understood that we are not compatible anymore, for lack of a better word," he smiled sadly. "I will forever cherish what we had. You were my friend, without prejudice and wholly. And, maybe if I'd had more friends like that at the time, I wouldn't have been so possessive. But I do now," he smiled. "I'm making new friends, through my work. People I'd known before but never been close to. So, thank you for that. For opening my eyes and I'm sorry. I hadn't said that before, I honestly didn't feel that before but I do now. I'm sorry for however I may have contributed to hurt you and your family."

Rick nodded. He hadn't known what to expect from this meeting but he knew this was all they really needed. Maybe one day, when the hurt wasn't so raw, they'd talk again but for now he was satisfied that they had at least cleared the air.

xx

"Let him sweat," she told Esposito as she got out of the interview room not sure she had gotten through to Bobby Lopes.

"Kate," she heard behind her and her heart dropped. Rick was coming out of the viewing room with a somber expression. "Can we talk?"

She nodded. "Not here," she looked over the bullpen. While they had not gone much further in the relationship, they also kept things at the precinct on the down low. The boys and Lanie, who had seen their make out session at the wedding, knew not to say anything to Gates. She thought the woman knew, but didn't say anything.

They walked silently towards a supply closet she knew was always empty and a good place not to be interrupted, but most importantly, one of the few places around here not covered in glass windows.

He cleared the small table on the closet as she closed the door.

"Why didn't you tell me you remembered?" he asked sitting on the table. "We're together. You know I love you," he said firmly in a strangled voice. "And I think you love me."

"I do," she ran forward running her hand through his cheeks trying to soothe him.

"Then why didn't you tell me you remembered Kate? I would have helped you deal with the memories-"

"I never forgot," she confessed.

"What?" he looked at her hurt. "You lied?"

"I couldn't deal with what happened then. I'm not justifying what I did. But I want you to understand I never meant to hurt you. My world had just turned upside down and I didn't want to lose you."

"So you lied to me? Let me think you blamed me? That you had chosen Josh?"

"I never blamed you," she said fervently shaking her head. "How could you think that?"

"How could I not? I certainly blamed myself! Why wouldn't you?" he said desperately.

"Listen to me," she said firmly making him look at her. "If you hadn't come along I would eventually had looked into my mother's murder. We've discussed this before. Yes, you may have gotten the ball rolling when you looked into my case, but if you hadn't I would have at some time. And then what? I'd be alone. No, I never blamed you and I am sorry I let you think I chose Josh. That was never my intention, but to be honest, I was so confused I didn't know what to do. And I ran. Because that's what I do best. But I don't want to run anymore. I've been seeing a therapist. I've been working on my wall and, you," she kissed him gently, "and your family, babe, you've been like a bulldozer over that wall. I don't know what I would do without you. We most certainly wouldn't be here."

He nodded because he knew she was right. If she hadn't been around so much to help him, they might still be doing their dance and he wouldn't have confronted her. He would have just assumed the worse. But over the last months they had been getting much closer. They were together. And yes, they hadn't had sex yet, which was making him use all his self-control while driving him up the wall, but he was sure she loved him. So he hadn't understood why she had lied to him.

"Why didn't you just tell me later then? When we got together?"

"I was scared," she shrugged. "You've been dealing with lying parents, friends, and I was scared to be lumped together with them."

"You wouldn't be. This is different Kate. Potter, Dumbledore. They were malicious. I would have understood. Been hurt, yes, I am hurt. But I would have understood." But he wasn't so sure he would have. At least not if she had told him when she came back. When he was still reeling about everything and had not started considering the other's side.

She swallowed and asked him, "But this experience has changed you. Changed how you act. You've been more direct. And Mr. Smith, can you honestly tell me you would have told me about him, instead of just steering me away from the case? Like he asked you to."

He nodded, "I won't deny I didn't consider the option. To _protect_ you," he said firmly running both hands down her arms and bringing her closer.

"If there is something all this situation with your friends has taught me is; people screw up. Good people, and I screwed up and you would have screwed up if you lied to me, but never intending to hurt each other. Please forgive me. I screwed up and I didn't know how to fix my mess."

He nodded and touched his forehead to hers. "Is this what's been holding you back?"

She nodded, "I couldn't take that next step while lying to you. I felt wrong, but I also didn't know how to bring up my lie."

"Then we don't have any more lies between us. You know my dirty little secrets and I know yours and we jump together. Because I want everything with you, always."

She smiled, "Not here though."

He smiled back, "No," he shook his head kissing her. "I'll see if I can get the loft empty. I know Neal's been bugging his parents for a slumber party now that they have their D'Artagnan," he smirked at the mention of Neville, who had met the other two boys at the New Year's Eve party and had been a constant to their little group of budding criminals, as Peter called them. "I'm sure mother can make herself scarce and so can Alexis. Special dinner, just the two of us."

"It's a date," she smiled brilliantly.

Xx

A:N: Thanks for reviewing!

 **#YestoCastlePISpinOff #CastlePI**


	11. Their done

**Chapter 11 – Their done**

Things seemed to start moving forward quickly after he and Kate took that last step into a relationship. She had been practically living with them now, spending more nights over at the loft than at her home. Granted, every now and then they used her apartment as a getaway from the hustle and bustle of the Castle household.

Dumbledore's trial had also started and he had to testify and he was never more grateful for the support of his friends and family. They had kept Harry away from the trials. He tried to keep Alexis, but as she pointed out, she was eighteen. He had to testify and the defense attorney had tried to undermine his testimony with the fact that he was a writer, who specialized in fiction but the prosecutor guaranteed that he was grasping at straws. His whole defense consisted of the fact that Dumbledore was acting as a leader and shouldn't be subjected to everyday laws because a leader needs to think of the good of the whole not the individual. Those arguments had quickly been shut down by the fact the CIA and the British Secret Service had done in two weeks what Dumbledore and his methods hadn't done in eight years. In the end the jury didn't take long to convict him for life, but having to relive everything was both cathartic and harrowing.

The trial did give him a chance to talk to Sirius again without actively seeking him since the man had attended the entire trial. On the day the jury came out Sirius approached Rick and the others and asked to talk to him privately. Kate had rubbed his arm and encouraged him to go, not without a warning first.

"We all carry guns Mr. Black," she said pointing at herself, the boys and Peter and Sirius had nodded with a slight smirk as they tried to look for an empty room in the court house. As they found one Rick, didn't waste time and turned around asking.

"Did you blame him Sirius?"

"What, Ja- Rick I-"

"Did you blame Harry, Sirius?" Rick asked forcibly again. "Is that why you left him with Hagrid? Why you went after Pettigrew instead of taking care of your godson?"

"I don't blame him," Sirius said firmly, eyes moist. "I've had eight years with nothing to do but reflect on my life. Hindsight is 20/20 right? You were right. Dumbledore's rule of staying quiet if caught because he'd get us out was stupid and I should have defended myself to Scrimgeour and Bones. They would have been fair to me. Instead, I followed the orders waiting for Dumbledore to arrive and he never did. Instead I got carted to Azkaban."

"If you expect me to feel sorry for you-"

"No, I want to explain. I want to explain, because in Azkaban all I could do was think about everything I'd done wrong and why. And I don't, I don't blame him now…but when I arrived at the house. The house that was destroyed. Hagrid was holding him, saying all three of you were dead. I don't know if he was in on the charade."

"Hagrid can't lie to save his life. That's what Potter and Dumbledore were counting on when they sent him there. Apparently, they transfigured something or other to look like our bodies. Hagrid is no expert. He wouldn't be able to tell the difference and since Potter would control who would have access to the bodies – at least that's what Potter said."

Sirius nodded glad there wasn't yet another person he had looked up to in this mess. McGonagall, Charlus and Dumbledore were enough of a disappointment. Hagrid's role hadn't come up during the trial since they were focusing on Dumbledore's actions.

"When I saw him. The sole survivor. I told Hagrid to give him to me but I didn't fight him when he said he had orders from Dumbledore and after a lot of reflection I know why. Because I don't blame him now, or even before I found out you were alive. I've had time to realize that he is the biggest victim in all of this. But at that moment, when my world was crumbling. I did. I looked at him and thought that if he'd never been born Voldemort would have never targeted you. You were a pureblood, you were not active in the Order. Yes, you advocated Muggle rights but no one was paying attention. And I know I was wrong but I was also in pain James, and we do and think stupid things when we're in pain. By the time I realized what I'd done. That I should have embraced the fact that a part of my family survived instead of the pain of the loss of most of you, I was in Azkaban and the only one hearing my pleas of innocence were the Dementors."

"Remember the stories I used to write? For Robin and Alexis?" Sirius nodded not understanding this abrupt change of subject. Rick smiled. "They were adventures, of pirates and princes. They had fights and great escapades but they were light and happy. When I woke up with the only proper memory I had being of my son, dying surrounded by flames. That changed me Sirius. And I dealt with that on my books. But the fact is, I'm not James Potter anymore and not just because I had to rebuild myself, but because, despite the war going on, James Potter hadn't been touched by darkness. James Potter wouldn't be the Master of the Macabre. I'm Rick Castle now, for so many reasons. Because I can't just pretend I didn't have to rebuild myself from scratch and throw all that away, because I don't want to be a Potter, not after everything Charlus did in the name of the Potter House. I want to be of the not even a little bit Ancient nor Noble House of Castle. But mostly because, I just can't go back to being James Potter, he doesn't exist anymore."

"I understand you. I tried. I've been trying very hard to just go back to being the old Sirius, but I can't. The old Sirius didn't have the nightmares I have."

"Then maybe we shouldn't. Maybe we should stop trying to recover something and build anew. High, I'm Rick Castle, father, writer, police helper," Rick extended his hand.

"Sirius Black," Sirius grabbed it in a strong grip. "I don't know what I am yet. Trying to find myself."

"You'll get there," Rick smiled as he decided to let go. Because Kate was right. People screwed up and sometimes that screw up had awful consequences, but hammering on the mistake wouldn't help any of them.

Things at the precinct had also seemed to move fast with some very interesting cases. He had been on the other side for a moment when a Detective Inspector from Scotland Yard had assisted with a case and he seemed smitten with Kate, but just like he had with Sophia, Kate quickly squashed the problem by letting the DI know she was in a serious relationship. He had briefly made the acquaintance of a Detective from Gangs while Kate was busy with trial prep. She hadn't been happy.

"He's dangerous Rick!" she had exclaimed when he had come home extremely drunk because he honestly thought not drinking with Slaughter might be more prejudicial to his health than drinking with him. He had pulled her into his lap while sitting on the edge of his bed.

"I'll be as careful as I can. But I need something to shake up the new Nikki Heat book and with everything that has been going on lately I haven't had the inspiration to write what people expect of a Nikki Heat book," she had nodded holding him but he knew she was worried, not just about Slaughter but about his recent bout of writer's block. He tried to reassure her, because his block wasn't her fault. Quite the opposite, she was something good in his life that inspired him, but he also needed to deal with all the bad that had happened. He had written another book since Harry had entered their lives but the plot had been darker and not his usual happy ending, where justice is done. He was trying to work out the fact that while Dumbledore and Potter were paying for what they did, those who helped him weren't and never would, even if their society changed, since the Wizengamot had dismissed the charges against them.

But he needed some fresh material for Nikki, because Nikki had to be different. Nikki needed to end well.

He explained all this to Kate because he didn't want her to think there was something wrong with them. Quite the opposite, for as much as everything that had happened had hurt him and had been bad, in his personal life he couldn't be happier. Harry was quite adapted and his doctors were very pleased with his progress. They thought they'd be able to replace his bones during the summer and were sure he'd develop normally from now on. Alexis had gotten into all of the schools she wanted and he was hoping she'd choose one in New York. Kate had scolded him when she found out he was hiding the letters but kept his secret nonetheless. And the two of them were doing great and he had thought nothing could spoil that. Two weeks later he'd find out he was wrong as they were interrogating Evelyn Montgomery about a break-in in her house.

Kate had not wanted to talk to Evelyn even after Sherlock's tip and she had been extremely uncomfortable the whole time they were there with the boys, but as they were about to leave Rick took a chance.

"Evelyn, Kate and I need to identify someone Roy might have known. Do you know this man?" he asked showing her a picture he had in his phone that Kate had taken the day he met Smith in the garage.

"Oh, of course. That's Mike. He was Roy's best man. Thick as thieves those two."

"Do you happen to know where we could find him?" he had asked eagerly.

"Sure, I'll give you his address. Do you think he is connected to the break-in?"

"No," he lied quickly. Because he did. He thought someone might be after the files Smith had or Smith himself and they needed to get to him first. But they also needed to work this case, regardless of if this was or not connected to Beckett's mom's case.

When they got the DNA confirmation that the shooter was the same that had shot Kate, they had their first clash when Rick went to talk to her after receiving a call from Smith.

"We confront Smith now and we lead the shooter straight to him Castle."

"We confront him now and we may get the evidence we need against the shooter," he had argued back right in her living room having an awful déjà vu to just a year before.

"Espo has a lead. We find him, neutralize him and then we confront Smith and whatever evidence he has," she said firmly and he nodded.

"Then bring Gates into the loop. Get proper backup," he insisted.

"No," she shook her head violently. "This started with corrupt cops-"

"You think she's a mole?" he asked incredulously, because as much as he and Gates may have clashed, he had come to respect the woman immensely over the time they worked together. It didn't hurt that Gates liked Alexis and Harry. The few times Alexis had to bring files from the OCME's office or when she and Harry had surprised him picking him up a few times over the months, the woman had been nothing but nice to them, which he had to confess, he had been worried about given her attitude towards him. But mostly, the woman seemed genuine, she could have a much easier time buttering up to people, pretending she liked them when she didn't, but she didn't mince words and let everyone know what she thought of them. He had a hard time believing she'd be in someone's pocket.

"I would have never thought Roy was involved," Kate retorted.

"You're right," he nodded slowly. "We've been burned before. But you told me not to stop believing in people Kate. And you need help for this. You are in over your head. Whoever this guy is, he has training, he is a professional and you can't go at him alone in some suicide mission. That's not what anyone who loves you wants from you. And I can't watch you do this."

She looked at him shocked and hurt, "Are you asking me to choose between my mother's case and you?"

"No," he shook his head hating himself for putting her in this position, but he was left with no choice. "I'm asking you to be smart. Like we've been so far. You don't have to tell Gates about your mom or even Smith if you don't want to, but you do have to tell her about this lead Espo has found on your shooter. On the case we are currently working for her. That you are going after him."

"I can't do that," she said almost in tears. He came close to her and grabbed her hand desperately.

"You have to Kate. I can't lose you. Please," he begged cradling her face with his hand.

"And if I don't?"

"You're on your own because I can't stay here watching powerless. But I hope you realize you don't have to. That you have a team. You have a family. You have me," he kissed her gently caressing her hair softly hoping she understood he was doing this out of love. "I'm going to give you time to think and I'm going to wait for your call before I go talk to Smith personally. I hope you choose wisely."

"You can't be doing this," she tried to hold him by his arms.

"I'm doing this because I love you. Because I want forever with you Kate. I want you to help me finish raising my children. To raise our children together. But we can only have that if you are alive. And running at this guy full speed is not the way to stay alive. Is not what your mother would have wanted," he said as gently as he could disentangling himself from her. "Tomorrow is Alexis's graduation. She's expecting you to be there but I only want you to show up if you decide to live, to be a part of our family."

He gave her a final kiss before he left her to her thoughts. He needed her to make this choice alone. Up until now they'd had a pattern where she chose something that hurt them both and he forgave her. Understood her choices, why she left for the cabin, why she lied to him about hearing him. Now he needed her to choose them if they were ever to have a chance.

The next day he tried his best to look happy for the children. Alexis was a bundle of nerves about her speech, about beginning this new life of hers. He was glad she chose Columbia. But he had been a bundle of nerves too without a word from Kate or the precinct but he couldn't cave. Not if they were going to have the future he wanted. As they left for the graduation his heart dropped as Kate had yet to call or make an appearance.

When they arrived at the school, his spirits were completely crushed at the thought that she had made her choice. And he wasn't completely wrong, she had made her choice, as he found out when he, the children and his mother approached the large group gathered to see Alexis graduate. He was too despondent to realize who was there until El slapped him from Peter's side to get his attention.

"The woman asked you if you guys can talk alone Richard," she said firmly and he lifted his head to see that hidden in the back of the circle, in between Lanie and Espo and Jenny and Ryan, Kate had been standing all along. He hadn't seen her. Their friends had been forming a huge circle, with Robin and her crazy friends, all three Burkes and Longbottoms, Sherlock, Jim Beckett and surprisingly Sirius, and she had been hidden by the ones in front of her as she approached.

"Kate?"

"Do you mind Alexis? We'll just be a minute," she had asked coming forward and taking his dazed hand.

"Nah, maybe this way he'll get off this funk and be able to enjoy my graduation."

"I'm afraid he'll be in a whole new funk then," Lanie snorted as Kate glared at her leading Rick away. He still didn't really understand what was going on as she led him away from the hustle and bustle.

"We've arrested him. He was going by the name Cole Maddox."

"You- what?"

"Espo's lead panned out and," she faltered looking around a bit but they were far away from the others in a corner of the school. "Espo and I almost went at him alone but I listened to you Rick," she said caressing his cheek. "And we looped Gates in. Went after him with a SWAT team, got him. He's in protective custody right now and Gates has only people she trusts keeping guard on him. We want to go after Smith next, but we needed to be here, and I want you by my side when I find out who the dragon is. But mostly, Rick, I want you," she rested her forehead on his. "When Espo said we had his location, I leapt up and looked back expecting to see you there and that's when I realized, I don't want to take them down if you won't be there with me. I love you. I want us, I want the kids, I want forever."

"Are you proposing?" he asked with a goofy smile.

"First I need to ask permission of certain two very important individuals, and then I want us to go after Smith, after that, you might need to look surprised."

"You're stealing my thunder," he complained. "But you might need to look surprised when I say yes," he kissed her passionately.

After crying at his baby girl's graduation, they had indeed gone after Smith, who, after realizing he was ousted, had no choice but to tell them how to recover the files. They had been immensely surprised to find out that Senator William Bracken had been behind everything. Furthermore, the documents Montgomery had collected were very detailed. He understood now why Montgomery had been so afraid for his family. Bracken wasn't the only threat, and while he had enough to take down Bracken, his file alone wasn't enough to take down the rest. Luckily for them, they had some very convenient family connections in the CIA which Haley activated.

Bracken had a side drug business network with Vulcan Simmons that included a public defender named Caleb Brown and a CIA high-ranking officer named Mason Woods. And while Montgomery hadn't had enough to bring all of them down he had enough for them to add to an investigation that had been ongoing on Woods and being led by a woman named Rita, who Haley told him was their step-mother. Once they had the name of the head and connected both investigations, the whole network came crashing down and arrests were promptly made despite Maddox's insistent silence.

They had also seen a note Montgomery had left saying there was a tape that incriminated Bracken that had been in Johana Beckett's possession, which led Kate to find the tape inside the elephants she kept on her desk. Truth be told, with the evidence collected both by Montgomery and Rita, by then they didn't need the tape, but every bit of evidence helped and they had the pleasure to see all of them fall. Kate had the special pleasure of being the one to collar Bracken.

And she had kept her promise. After collaring Bracken they had gone home and rested. When Alexis had come back from her graduation festivities and had slept off her hangover he had sat both kids down on the living room couch and talked about how they felt if he married Kate. He wanted their honest opinion before Kate talked to them. They had been happy for him.

"I wasn't sure if she was good for you at first," Alexis had told him. "After she hurt you during the summer. But she's made you so happy at such a trying time that I think she's the one dad."

"I'm glad you agree Alexis," he heard a voice behind him and jumped a mile high. Wasn't she asleep? What was she doing up and all dressed up? "Because I wanted to ask if you two would give me the honor of being your step-mother and would entrust you father's heart to me."

"Didn't we just say yes?" Harry asked confused as Kate came to stand next to Rick.

"Yes," Alexis nodded exasperated.

"So, Richard Alexander Rodgers Castle, would you marry me?" Kate asked grabbing both his hands and he said:

"Wait a sec," and ran to his office leaving all three of them gaping at where he had been standing.

"Was that supposed to happen?" Harry asked.

"What's happening?" Martha asked coming down the stairs.

"Dad's gone mad," Alexis replied as Rick came back.

"Okay, now I'm good."

"Really?" Kate said with a raised eyebrow. "Now I can ask?"

"Yep," he said happily swinging with both his hands behind his back.

"Okay, Richard Alexander Rodgers Castle, would you marry me?"

"Of course I will," he said with the brightest smile bringing forward a beautiful diamond ring. "And you, Katherine Houghton Beckett, will you marry me?" he asked smiling.

"Oh my God. When did you get that?" she asked with her mouth hanging open.

"When you came back from the cabin and not the question," he smiled.

"Yes," she grabbed his face kissing him. "Yes, I'll marry you," she finished as he kissed her to the applause of his family.

They married during the summer in the Hamptons surrounded by their friends and family, which had included Sirius and Severus, after Harry had his bones replaced and later that year Kate had officially adopted both Harry and Alexis despite her being already an adult.

Like Severus had said, all the Hogwarts teachers had to come to take classes so they would know how to at least interact with non-magical technology and his mother had reconnected with Poppy Pomphrey and Pomona Sprout, all school friends. The adaptation process would be slow. They needed to educate a lot of adults and didn't have people to teach the regular curriculum, so in the beginning they had to recruit from the families of first-generations and bring people from abroad. McGonagall had resigned, not liking the changes one bit and to Rick's surprise, Sirius had taken over taking a real leadership role in the adaptation of the British Wizarding World.

Hogwarts had to be modernized, rebuilt in places to allow for electricity and the internet. They kept the boarding school tradition, not willing to change absolutely everything, but other schools had been built too, for adult education. For the younger years, they had used the American model of using already established non-magical schools with wards so the non-magical students wouldn't see the magical part. The purebloods hadn't been happy but they had also instituted that elementary schooling was mandatory so there was nothing they could do. He saw Sirius and Severus during the summers though, as they came regularly to keep the program going. He also exchanged emails and sometimes Skyped. They weren't as close as they had once been, but slowly they managed to build a new friendship.

The Longbottoms decided to stay in the US in the end, and they acted as liaisons between the Americans and the British as a secondary job. Neville started going to school with Neal, Mozzie and Harry and they had started to branch out, making other friends, which Rick had been glad about. Alice and Frank, as a primary job, joined Sherlock, Haley and Rick in opening a Private Investigations firm called Richard Castle Investigations – they weren't stupid and wanted to capitalize on the name – after they all got certified. Rick still mainly worked with the 12th as Kate's partner for years, up until she was promoted to captain of the 12th and left the field and he took a more active role at the PI firm. Richard Castle Investigations however still aided both the 12th precinct and the precinct Sherlock had worked with whenever they needed, but they took on all kinds of crazy cases.

His mother was booming in her career. Her acting studio was doing great, she had started great successes on Broadway and had even written a self-help book.

Robin was also doing great becoming the anchor for World Wide News.

To his utter despair, by her sophomore year, Alexis took an interest in the PI firm and joined them. Kate had tried to console him by telling him things could be worse.

"She could have been bringing home some tree hugging hippy that would drive you up the wall."

Yes, well, he hoped she never would. At some point he thought she and Charlie may start something, but they always remained just long-distant friends, as the boy was too entranced with his dragons.

He had seen his dad again eventually, through Rita, the step-mom who was leading the whole take down of Bracken's network, when she had come back to assure them everything was taken care of and there would be no blowbacks. He didn't know if he'd ever see the man again, but that was okay.

When Harry was twelve, Rick received the honor of getting a Poe's Pen award that was outshined by the third and fourth best gifts he ever got as they welcomed to the world a pair of twins, a boy and a girl, who even as babies seemed to have received the Castle mischievous gene, Kate complained happily. They had waited a bit to start trying, wanting to make sure Harry would be absolutely okay and was sure of his role in the family. He had taken to being a big brother very seriously as Alexis had taken to pampering the twins.

The year Harry started high school he was sure he was in for a great experience, with his best friends by his side and his enormous extended family backing him. And what Harry liked the most about his family was that they were all crazy and not normal at all.

Xx

A/N: Thank you all for the great ride. I hope you enjoyed this story!

Sorry if this felt rushed but once they had decided to take the leap in the full relationship I felt what was left was just tying the loose ends of season 4.

Castle and thinking up this universe has been very important to me this last year. What Frank told Rick about the Nikki Heat books holds true for Castle to me in a year that was very tough for me. So thank you for sharing this passion with me.

 **#YestoCastlePISpinOff #CastlePI**


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